COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Council Housing: Antisocial Behaviour Orders

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities have successfully applied for anti-social behaviour orders against their tenants in the last three years.

Ian Austin: The Department does not collect this information.
	Information collected centrally by the Ministry of Justice on the number of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued from April 1999 to December 2007 is available at:
	http://www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/asbos/asbos02-090713.xls

Council Housing: Finance

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to move debt from highly indebted local authorities to those with no debt as part of his plans for a redistribution of housing debt.

Ian Austin: On 21 July my right hon. Friend the Minister for Housing published a consultation paper setting out proposals to replace the Housing Revenue Account subsidy system with a devolved system of responsibility and funding for council housing. This would end the need to redistribute income between council landlords each year, in exchange for a one-off adjustment of housing debt. Under the proposals, some authorities would be provided with funds to pay off debt and others would take on more housing debt, putting all councils in a position to sustain their stock in future from their own income. The consultation paper, 'Reform of council housing finance', is published on my Department's website at:
	www.communities.gov.uk

Empty Shops Funding Grant

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding has been  (a) distributed to each local authority through the Empty Shops Funding Grant and  (b) subsequently spent by each authority; how many empty premises have been utilised as part of the scheme in each year since its inception; and how many he estimates will be used in the next two years.

Ian Austin: On 13 August, CLG announced £3 million funding to help areas hit hardest by the recession find ways to boost town centres, and in particular mitigate the negative impact of empty shops on the high street. The 57 local authorities, shown in the following list, have each received £52,631.58. This is new funding for 2009-10 only, which forms part of the package of support that CLG is providing to boost town centres and high streets, as set out in "Looking after our town centres", which we published in April.
	In accordance with the Government's policy on local authority funding, it is for the local authorities concerned to decide precisely how it should be spent. However, we continue to work with local authorities and other stakeholders to highlight positive approaches for making use of empty shops, and other ideas for promoting town centres.
	 Local authorities receiving empty shops funding:
	Ashfield
	Barnsley
	Barrow-in-Furness
	Birmingham
	Blackburn with Darwen
	Blackpool
	Bolton
	Boston
	Bristol
	Burnley
	Copeland
	Corby
	Coventry
	Darlington
	Derby City
	Doncaster
	Dudley
	Durham
	Gateshead
	Great Yarmouth
	Hackney
	Halton
	Harlow
	Hartlepool
	Hastings
	Hyndburn
	Ipswich
	Kingston Upon Hull
	Kirklees
	Knowsley
	Leeds
	Leicester City
	Liverpool
	Manchester
	Mansfield
	Middlesbrough
	Newcastle upon Tyne
	North East Lincolnshire
	North Tyneside
	Nottingham City
	Pendle
	Preston
	Rochdale
	Rossendale
	Rotherham
	Salford
	Sandwell
	Sefton
	Sheffield
	South Tyneside
	Stoke-on-Trent
	Sunderland
	Tameside
	Thanet
	Walsall
	Wigan
	Wolverhampton

Local Development Frameworks

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities have commenced but not yet completed processes for the approval of a new Local Development Framework; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Austin: 'Local Development Framework' is the collective name for the folder of various planning-related documents that local planning authorities have prepared. Some of these documents will have been subject to statutory independent examination in public by the Planning Inspectorate; others will have been approved and adopted by individual authorities where there is no statutory requirement for independent examination. All authorities will have approved documents of one kind or another in place and all are subject to regular monitoring and review, so it is an ongoing process.
	Documents that the Planning Inspectorate has considered sound to date are:
	50 Core Strategies
	37 Area Action Plans
	9 Site Allocation Policies
	7 Development Control Policies
	17 Minerals and Waste Policies
	10 other plans dealing with specific themes
	385 Statements of Community Involvement.

Local Development Frameworks

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities have approved Local Development Frameworks with provision for new house building at a level lower than that required to meet Government targets; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Austin: 'Local Development Framework' is the collective name for the folder of various planning-related documents that local planning authorities have prepared. Some of these documents (development plan documents) will have been subject to statutory independent examination in public by the Planning Inspectorate; others will have been approved and adopted by individual authorities where there is no statutory requirement for independent examination.
	In order to be found sound, development plan documents are required to be in general conformity with the regional spatial strategy (or spatial development strategy if the LPA is located in London), including housing allocations, if appropriate.

Local Government: Official Hospitality

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department issues to local authorities on the receipt of gratuities and hospitality by staff.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has issued no guidance on the receipt of gratuities and hospitality by local authority employees.

Local Government: Pay

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which 100 elected local authority representatives had the highest total remuneration in the latest year for which information is available.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not held centrally.

National Housing and Planning Advice Unit

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on what date the contracts of each member of the National Housing and Planning Advice Unit board expire; and what plans he has to renew each such contract.

Ian Austin: All board members' contracts expire on 31 October 2009. We will announce our decision on future board appointments after we have completed a review of the unit later this month.

National Housing and Planning Advice Unit

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many full-time equivalent staff members the National Housing and Planning Advice Unit employed in each of the last three years.

Ian Austin: The National Housing and Planning Advice Unit has employed the following full-time equivalent staff(1) over each of the last three years:
	(1) Assumes permanent civil service staff only, excludes two temporary staff for part of period.
	
		
			   Number 
			 October 2006(1) to March 2007 1.42 
			 April 2007-March 2008 12.25 
			 April 2008-March 2009 12.66 
			 April 2009-current 12.8 
			 (1) NHPAU established and first started incurring staff salary costs in October 2006. 
		
	
	In addition, the unit also currently has six board members who work for the unit for up to a maximum of 30 days per year each.

National Housing and Planning Advice Unit

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department has reviewed the effectiveness of the National Housing and Planning Advice Unit's remit.

Ian Austin: A review of the unit began in August and is expected to conclude shortly.

Refuges: Domestic Violence

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many domestic violence refuges there are in each local authority area in England and Wales.

Ian Austin: The Department does not collect this information.
	There is a range of support for victims of domestic violence. Some victims will be accommodated in refuges, but sanctuary schemes and mainstream local authority accommodation may be an option for others, while some victims will pursue independent solutions with help and advice from support schemes as necessary.
	The Department has recently commissioned new research that will identify the current housing options available to households at risk of domestic violence, and to assess whether this provision meets current need. It will involve establishing the extent and type of temporary and settled accommodation available for households at risk of domestic violence in England, including the provision of housing related support services delivered to both temporary and settled accommodation, and to households' own homes. This will report early next year. Whether it will show a breakdown in each local authority depends on how many local authorities respond to the research. As the research is still ongoing we are currently unable to determine what the response rate is.
	In 2003 the Government announced major investment in refuge provision in England in 2003-06. A total of £34 million capital was allocated and 511 units of accommodation were refurbished or newly built. More recently the Hostels Capital Improvement Programme (2005-07) funded six new and refurbished refuges at a cost of £4 million.
	CLG provides essential revenue support for victims of domestic violence through the Supporting People Programme. £64.5 million in 2007-08 up from £61.6 million in 2006-07.
	Information for Wales has not been included as provision of refuges is a devolved matter.

Refuges: Domestic Violence

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many domestic violence refuges have closed in the last five years.

Ian Austin: The Department does not collect this information.

Regional Planning and Development

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations his Department has received on clarification of aspects of the Town and Country (General Permitted Development Order) (Amendment) (No. 2) (England) Order; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Austin: The Department has received a number of representations from organisations and individuals seeking clarification on issues arising from the Town and Country (General Permitted Development Order) (Amendment) (No. 2) (England) Order 2008. The representations include concerns about the way the order is being interpreted by planning authorities.
	I have asked my officials to undertake an assessment of all the matters that have been raised since the introduction of the order. Once that is completed, they will meet with stakeholders to discuss these issues further.

Social Rented Housing: Cornwall

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many properties are expected to be added to the stock of social rented housing in Cornwall through  (a) construction and  (b) purchase in each of the next five years.

Ian Austin: The Homes and Communities Agency is delivering a £59 million affordable housing investment programme in Cornwall over the 2008-11 period. In 2008-09, 209 new social homes for rent were completed in Cornwall. 539 new social homes for rent are expected to be completed in 2009-10 and a minimum of 365 new social homes for rent are expected to be completed in 2010-11. Approximately 52 homes were bought from developers on the open market for social rent in 2008-09 and 79 homes are expected to be bought from developers on the open market for social rent in 2009-10. There are no estimates for future years.

Social Rented Housing: Standards

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether any changes are planned to levels of Decent Homes funding to fund the other housing measures announced in the Draft Legislative Programme.

Ian Austin: There are no current planned changes to levels of Decent Homes funding to fund other housing measures announced in the Draft Legislative Programme.

Social Rented Housing: Standards

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when expenditure is planned to start under the Decent Homes programme to improve the standards of rented homes under the management of Round 6 arm's-length management organisations which have gained a two-star rating.

Ian Austin: Four Round 6 ALMOs-Haringey, Blackpool, Enfield and Stevenage-have funded Decent Homes investment programmes. On 14 July, as part of the Housing Pledge announcement, the Minister for Housing announced that those remaining Round 6 ALMOs, who had yet to qualify for Decent Homes funding on that date, are more likely to receive their capital allocations in 2011-12, subject to the ALMO achieving the Audit Commission inspection rating required.

Social Rented Housing: Standards

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much money is planned to be diverted from the arm's length management organisations decent homes programme in  (a) 2009-10 and  (b) 2010-11 to contribute to funding the building of new homes.

Ian Austin: There are no plans to divert funding from the Decent Homes programme in 2009-10. In 2011-11, £150 million has been reprioritised from the programme to fund the Housing Pledge initiative to contribute to the building of new homes.

Social Rented Housing: Standards

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the proportion of former council properties transferred out of council ownership through local authority stock transfer which meet the Decent Homes standard.

Ian Austin: As at 31 March 2009, the proportion of homes owned by registered social landlords that own stock transferred from local authorities, which met the Decent Homes Standard was 88.1 per cent.
	 Source
	RSR 2009

Social Rented Housing: Standards

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the proportion of properties owned by arm's-length management organisations which meet the Decent Homes standard.

Ian Austin: Information reported by local arm's- length management companies in 2008 on dwellings that meet the Decent Homes standard show that 69 per cent. of their homes met the standard.

Social Rented Housing: Standards

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the proportion of homes owned by registered social landlords which meet the Decent Homes standard.

Ian Austin: As at 31 March 2009 the proportion of homes owned by registered social landlords which met the Decent Homes standard was 91.7 per cent.
	 Source:
	RSR 2009

Social Rented Housing: West Yorkshire

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he plans to take to increase the standard of social housing in  (a) West Yorkshire and  (b) Leeds North West constituency in the next 12 months.

Ian Austin: holding answer 12 October 2009
	The Government have provided significant funding to support delivery of Decent Homes Programmes in the social housing sector across West Yorkshire. Such works will help to uplift the condition of housing which is currently deemed non-decent. With the exception of the Wakefield local authority area all other local authority areas in the West Yorkshire sub-region are on track to complete the decency programmes in line with the December 2010 deadline.
	In terms of Leeds North West, the Arm's-Length Management Organisation, West North West is on track to deliver decent homes by 2010-11. Significant investment of £1.5 million in 2009-10 and £1.8 million in 2010-11 will be made on decency works and essential maintenance. West North West has also set its own lettable standard which is published on the website and provides for a higher level decency.
	In addition, West North West will be investing £74,000 in 2009-10 and £62,000 in 2010-11 on environmental works to complement housing investment and improve the standard of the public realm.
	1,500 properties in West North West area will benefit from the Social Housing Energy Saving Programme which will provide insulation measures thus increasing levels of thermal comfort.
	Leeds and Kirklees will also benefit from the recent first round announcement regarding the local authority new build programme which was announced in the budget and was recently strengthened by the Housing Pledge. This will provide much needed high quality additional social housing-63 units supported by £3.5 million in Leeds and 36 units supported by almost £2 million grant in Kirklees.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Motor Vehicles

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department spent on hire vehicles in each of the last five financial years.

Shaun Woodward: The following table shows how much the Northern Ireland Office, including the Public Prosecution Service Northern Ireland, but excluding its agencies and non-departmental public bodies has spent on hire vehicles in each of the last five financial years.
	
		
			   £000 
			 2004-05 70 
			 2005-06 73 
			 2006-07 50 
			 2007-08 74 
			 2008-09 73

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate Change: Import Duties

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what progress has been made on the Doha Declaration paragraph 31 commitment to reduce or eliminate tariffs and non-tariff barriers on environmental goods and services.

Patrick McFadden: I have been asked to reply.
	The Doha Round remains the UK Government's top trade priority and we will continue to work closely with our EU and international partners to secure a deal as early as possible.
	Trade liberalisation of environmentally friendly goods and services is an important part of the negotiations. The World Trade Organisation's Committee on Trade and Environment, which is mandated to take forward these negotiations, recently met where all parties, including the EU, reaffirmed their commitment to the negotiations. The UK Government are committed to seeking an early resolution that will support the comprehensive global deal on climate change that we are seeking in Copenhagen this December.

UK Low Carbon Transition Plan

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change against what criteria he expects his Department to decide on the location of the 15 test hubs as identified in the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan; and when he expects that decision to be taken.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 9 September 2009
	The criteria against which we will be short-listing the 20 test hubs were published on 28 September and we have invited local authorities in England, Wales and N Ireland to participate.
	The criteria can be found at
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/what_we_do/consumers/lc_communities/lc_communities.aspx
	We expect to announce the location of these short-listed test hubs by the end of this year or early next year.

Warm Front Scheme

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much has been paid to Eaga since the inception of the Warm Front scheme.

David Kidney: Payments for Warm Front heating, insulation and other energy efficiency measures, as well as scheme administration, are made to the main contractor, Eaga plc. Eaga deliver these measures through a network of subcontractors. The total value of payments made to Eaga since the beginning of the current phase of the scheme in June 2005 is £1,494 million.

WOMEN AND EQUALITY

Human Rights: Gender

Lynne Jones: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what assessment she has made of the recommendations for Council of Europe member states on human rights and gender identity made by the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights on 29 July 2009; and if she will make a statement.

Michael Jabez Foster: holding answer 12 October 2009
	We are aware of the Commissioner for Human Rights' issue paper on Human Rights and Gender Identity.
	We are considering carefully the recommendations he has made and will make clear the Government's response in due course.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Housing Benefit: Expenditure

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what percentage of the expenditure of her Department and its predecessors on housing benefit was related to  (a) social tenants and  (b) private tenants in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how much has been spent on housing benefit for  (a) private tenants and  (b) social tenants in each year since 1997.

Helen Goodman: The information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Housing benefit expenditure on social and private tenants (£ million and as a percentage of the total expenditure) 
			   £ million  Percentage 
			   Social tenants  Private tenants  Social tenants  Private tenants 
			 1997-98 7,740 3,437 69 31 
			 1998-99 7,885 3,180 71 29 
			 1999-2000 8,098 2,966 73 27 
			 2000-01 8,311 2,851 74 26 
			 2001-02 8,768 2,827 76 24 
			 2002-03 9,615 3,040 76 24 
			 2003-04 9,326 3,028 75 25 
			 2004-05 9,813 3,361 74 26 
			 2005-06 10,222 3,723 73 27 
			 2006-07 10,716 4,143 72 28 
			 2007-08 11,239 4,513 71 29 
			  Notes: 1. Expenditure figures are in millions of pounds, in cash terms. 2. Figures include all housing benefit expenditure, whether funded by DWP and its predecessors, or by local authorities. 3. Figures include expenditure on discretionary housing payments.  Source: Local authority subsidy returns and housing benefit administrative data.

Incapacity Benefit

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many sanctions were imposed on incapacity benefit claimants who missed their  (a) first,  (b) second and  (c) third work-focused interview in each quarter since 2003.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 14 September 2009
	Data are not available in the form requested.

Minimum Wage: Apprentices

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment she has made of the merits of applying the national minimum wage to apprentices.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 14 September 2009
	I have been asked to reply.
	The effects of the NMW on younger workers need to be considered carefully to avoid damaging incentives between education and work and ensure the employment prospects of younger workers are not adversely affected.
	We know that young workers experience substantially worse unemployment and employment rates than adults. Both are more sensitive to the economic cycle. That is why the Low Pay Commission recommended a separate youth rate from the outset in 1999 and continues to believe there is a case for retaining them. Government and the LPC are concerned that removing the youth rates could adversely affect employment levels for this group. Earlier this year, the LPC recommended that 21-year-olds be entitled to the adult minimum wage. We have accepted this recommendation but, given the current economic conditions, stated that this change will be implemented from October 2010.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Members: Email

Nick Hurd: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude) of 24 April 2009,  Official Report, column 948W, on Members: email, whether hon. Members' staff are permitted to install on parliamentary computers the encryption software recommended by Parliamentary Information and Communication Technology service.

Nick Harvey: Yes.

Members: Email

Nick Hurd: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude) of 2 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1212W, on Members: email, if the Commission will introduce remote access software with which Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) software is compatible to ensure that PGP software can be used on hon. Members' computers.

Nick Harvey: No, as the product is not compatible with software in use by Parliament.

Members: Security

John Mann: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if the House of Commons Commission will publish a list of the names of parliamentary passholders sponsored by each hon. Member before the start of the next parliamentary session.

Nick Harvey: The names of parliamentary passholders are the individuals' personal data. Disclosing these names would pose an unacceptable risk to the health and safety of the individuals. Some information on Members' staff (paid and unpaid) is available within the public Register of Interests:
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmsecret/memi01.htm

Visits

John Mann: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what the estimated marginal cost of opening Parliament for visitors during the summer adjournment was in 2008; and how much income was received from paying visitors during that period.

Nick Harvey: The cost of running the summer opening programme in 2008 was £736,026 and the income received from paying visitors was £733,783.
	The summer opening programme runs as a cost-neutral (self-financing) operation, the strategy being to break even over a three-year period. The current three-year period, for this purpose, is 2007-09.

TRANSPORT

Aviation: Fees and Charges

Hugo Swire: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what discussions he has had with  (a) BAA plc and  (b) the Manchester Airport Group on the change to its methodology for aeronautical charges levied on airlines; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: Oversight of the level of airport charges at price-controlled airports (currently Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted) is normally a matter for the Civil Aviation Authority. However, as part of the Department's review of the economic regulation of airports officials have taken evidence from BAA, MAG and a number of other stakeholders (including other airports, airlines, and consumer representation bodies). We expect to announce the findings of the review later this year.

Aviation: Security

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport if he will make it his policy to seek  (a) additional powers for airport security personnel and  (b) the creation of new and more specific offences in order to protect airline crews and passengers from bad behaviour by other passengers; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: The information is as follows:
	 (a) All passengers entering the restricted zone of an airport are subject to screening and searching procedures; these procedures are conducted with the consent of the traveller. Failure by the passenger to undertake this requirement will result in refusal of entry into the restricted zone and aircraft. Security personnel are not state employees and do not have the same powers as control authorities (police and UK Border Agency); they operate by consent only. Where airport security personnel require support from enforcement powers they can request assistance from control authorities.
	 (b) There is already a range of specific offences related to disruptive passenger behaviour on board aircraft. We consider that existing policy and legislative penalties are sufficient to deal with such behaviour.

Dartford-Thurrock Crossing: Tolls

David Evennett: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many times tolls have been suspended at the Dartford Crossing in the last 12 months.

Sadiq Khan: The charges/tolls have been suspended on four occasions since 1 October 2008.
	Three suspensions were planned overnight power outages for two hours each. The fourth occasion was for five and a half hours during a major power failure across south-east London.

Employment Tribunals Service

Justine Greening: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many times his Department has been taken to an employment tribunal in each of the last five years; what the reason cited in each case was; and in how many cases the tribunal found in favour of the  (a) employee and  (b) Department.

Chris Mole: The total number of employment tribunal cases in each of the last five years is broken down in the table following below and also include figures to date for 2009-10:
	
		
			  Financial year  Number  Withdrawn  Settled  Ongoing  Found in favour of (a) employee  Found in favour of (b) Department 
			 2009-10 11 1 2 7 - 1 
			 2008-09 39 9 12 16 - 2 
			 2007-08 30 8 12 1 1 8 
			 2006-07 9 1 3 - - 5 
			 2005-06 (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- 
			 2004-05 12 4 3  2 3 
			 (1) Information withheld on grounds of confidentiality as less than five. 
		
	
	The cases above have not been broken down further by category in order to protect the confidentiality of the persons concerned. However, claims include unfair dismissal, sex, race and disability discrimination, declined applications of statutory flexible working requests and unlawful deduction from wages claims.
	Overall, 23 were contested and decided at a full hearing of the Employment Tribunal.

Government Departments: Official Cars

John Mann: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport which Minister with a Government car recorded the lowest average daily mileage in that car in the year to 31 March 2009.

Paul Clark: The Government Car and Despatch Agency is responsible for providing ministerial cars. It does not record individual journey information and so is unable to calculate how much use each Minister has made of their official car and could provide an answer only at a disproportionate cost.

Rolling Stock

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many of the additional rail carriages announced in the 2007 Rail White Paper have been ordered; and what the timetable is for the ordering of the remainder.

Chris Mole: 543 new vehicles have been ordered to date.
	Following the Government's electrification announcement on 23 July the requirements for rolling stock have been radically altered. We will be publishing an updated Rolling Stock Plan setting out a revised strategy in the autumn.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Landfill: Pollution

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment his Department has made of the effects on public health of leakage from landfill sites into aquifers.

Dan Norris: holding answer 12 October 2009
	No recent specific assessment has been made by DEFRA on leakage from landfills into aquifers.
	Landfills are subject to strict permitting requirements under European and domestic legislation concerning their location, design, operation, closure and aftercare in order to prevent harm to human health and the environment.
	In 2004, the Government published a report that assessed the environmental and health effects of different types of waste management facilities. It looked at leakages from municipal solid waste landfills to surface water and groundwater. It stated:
	"While the lack of data means that the numbers themselves are of poor quality, they indicate that emissions from waste management are a very small proportion of total UK emissions".

Waste Disposal: Greater Manchester

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what provision has been made by the Government for the underwriting of the recently-agreed Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority private finance initiative scheme.

Dan Norris: DEFRA has made no provision for the Government to underwrite the recently agreed Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority (GMWDA) private finance initiative (PFI) scheme. DEFRA has, however, provided £124,500,000 of PFI credits which assist GMWDA payment obligations under the contract itself. These payments made by GMWDA would only be made for services actually received.

Waste Management

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with  (a) London and  (b) Greater Manchester waste authorities on their strategic waste management policies in respect of (i) site management of waste, (ii) locations of waste management sites and (iii) the combination of waste technologies selected.

Dan Norris: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spoke to the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority about the work they are doing on waste management when he went to Manchester on 24 September. Helen Ghosh, DEFRA's permanent secretary, also visited the Waithlands Recycling Centre in Greater Manchester on 5 August.
	No recent discussions have been held with the London waste authorities.

Waste: Renewable Energy

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which local authorities have embarked on local consultation on their energy-from-waste strategy since the publication of the UK Renewable Energy Strategy.

Dan Norris: In order for a local authority to submit an outline business case (OBC) to request private finance initiative (PFI) credits, they must have embarked upon a public consultation exercise.
	Since the publication of the UK Renewable Energy Strategy, DEFRA has not received any new OBCs, therefore we are not aware of any consultations.

Water: Meters

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many water meters were installed in residential dwellings by water supply companies in each water supply area in each of the last three years.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The following table sets out the number of meters water supply companies have installed in households in the last three years.
	
		
			  Total household meters installed each year 
			   2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			  Water and sewerage companies
			 Anglian (including Hartlepool Water) 25,516 28,586 33,222 
			 Dwr Cymru 18,753 15,042 19,947 
			 Northumbrian Water (including Essex and Suffolk Water) 41,743 34,489 31,292 
			 Severn Trent Water 38,594 33,215 44,331 
			 South West Water 26,330 28,528 23,162 
			 Southern Water 35,847 19,224 21,160 
			 Thames Water 47,204 34,519 36,288 
			 United Utilities 39,503 37,734 58,240 
			 Wessex Water 11,325 11,277 18,570 
			 Yorkshire Water 32,391 25,176 40,144 
			 
			  Water only companies
			 Bournemouth and West Hampshire Water 6,353 4,755 4,806 
			 Bristol Water 7,285 5,949 9,431 
			 Cambridge Water 1,466 1,381 1,432 
			 Dee Valley Water 2,659 2,432 2,487 
			 Folkestone Water 5,117 3,793 3,787 
			 Portsmouth 5,797 3,734 5,219 
			 South East Water (including Mid-Kent Water) 21,959 14,489 13,339 
			 South Staffordshire Water 6,176 4,344 7,568 
			 Sutton and East Surrey Water 8,871 5,814 7,179 
			 Tendring Hundred Water 1,110 890 1,242 
			 Three Valleys Water 40,933 30,351 28,247 
			  Source: Ofwat.

TREASURY

Banks: Regulation

William Cash: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he has taken in the last three months to require banks to provide  (a) financial resources and  (b) credit lines to companies and businesses which wish to purchase construction and agricultural vehicles and equipment from UK companies.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 15 January 2009
	I have been asked to reply.
	The Government recognise that the current economic climate is causing significant difficulties for established businesses and start-up firms alike.
	The recapitalisation of the banks and subsequent measures to support bank lending, are essential to secure and sustain a competitive UK lending market. This is essential for businesses given that the vast majority looking for finance will continue to seek support from mainstream lenders, and not from Government supported schemes.
	The UK is the first country in the world to have negotiated legally binding lending commitments with banks receiving state support. The Royal Bank of Scotland have committed to £25 billion of additional net lending over the next 12 months, including £16 billion for lending to businesses. Lloyds have committed to an additional £3 billion of gross mortgage lending and £11 billion of additional net lending to businesses over the next 12 months. Both agreements are in effect immediately.
	While supporting lenders to continue lending, the Government have also introduced targeted support for viable businesses who continue to struggle to raise finance from commercial sources. For small and medium businesses who find themselves on the margins of commercial lending decisions, the £13 billion Enterprise Finance Guarantee encourages lenders to extend their usual lending criteria by providing them with additional security in the form of a Government backed guarantee.
	The Government continue to work with the banks and business representative bodies, through fora such as the Small Business Finance Forum, and we continue to monitor bank lending to SMEs, with the Bank of England.
	The measures delivered by the Government are across all sectors, including the construction and agricultural sectors.

Business: Government Assistance

Lorely Burt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses have had an application for assistance from the business payment support service declined in each month since the scheme was introduced.

Stephen Timms: The business payment support service was introduced on 24 November 2008. To 27 September 2009 6,119 requests for time to pay tax due have not been agreed by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), representing 1.9 per cent. of the total requests received. Some businesses will have submitted more than one request.
	The following table provides the monthly breakdown.
	
		
			  Period  Requests not agreed 
			 24 November 2008 - 1 March 2009(1) 1230 
			 2 March 2009 - 29 March 2009 414 
			 30 March 2009 - 3 May 2009 522 
			 4 May 2009 - 31 May 2009 407 
			 1 June 2009 - 28 June 2009 473 
			 29 June 2009 - 26 July 2009(2) 2263 
			 27 July 2009 - 30 August 2009 422 
			 31 August 2009 - 27 September 2009 388 
			 Total 6119 
			  Notes: (1) Disaggregated figures are not available prior to 2 March 2009. (2) Validation work in July 2009 led to the data capture of requests for time to pay agreements that had been processed but not previously entered on HM Revenue and Customs' management information systems.

Charities

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what grants his Department made to charitable organisations in each of the last five years.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Treasury does not hold a central record of payments made to charitable organisations and the information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Child Benefit

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much child benefit was paid to children living in each other EU country in the latest period for which figures are available.

Stephen Timms: According to the latest statistics there are 30,068 child benefit awards in payment in respect of 50,586 children resident in other member states. A geographical breakdown of these awards by member state can be found in the following table.
	
		
			  Country  Number of awards at 8 October 2009  Number of children included in awards 
			 Austria 29 52 
			 Belgium 153 297 
			 Bulgaria 45 70 
			 Cyprus 51 82 
			 Czech Republic 197 340 
			 Denmark 13 24 
			 Estonia 17 30 
			 Finland 16 29 
			 France 1,256 2,346 
			 Germany 311 529 
			 Greece 51 81 
			 Hungary 96 172 
			 Iceland 2 4 
			 Italy 175 300 
			 Latvia 259 346 
			 Lithuania 747 1,093 
			 Luxembourg 14 26 
			 Malta 17 26 
			 Norway 45 92 
			 Poland 22,858 37,941 
			 Portugal 222 329 
			 Republic of Ireland 883 1,818 
			 Romania 36 53 
			 Slovakia 1,483 2,573 
			 Slovenia 5 7 
			 Spain 741 1,230 
			 Sweden 57 107 
			 Switzerland 104 216 
			 The Netherlands 185 373 
			 Totals 30,068 50,586 
		
	
	The value of the benefit paid is only available at disproportionate costs because under the EC social security co-ordinating regulations (EC Regulations 1408/71 and 574/72) not all awards of child benefit in respect of children living in other member states are made at the full UK rate.

Departmental Incentives

Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what employee reward schemes are offered to staff of his Department; what the purpose of each scheme is; how many staff participate in each scheme; and what the cost of operating each scheme was in each of the last five years.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: HM Treasury offers a wide range of benefits to all of its employees. A summary of these is published on its recruitment website:
	http://recruitment.treasury.gov.uk/policyadvisors/rewards.php
	Performance related pay increases and non-consolidated performance awards for all eligible staff are linked to the annual performance appraisal system. All staff below the Senior Civil Service are assessed against their peers in relation to the Treasury competency framework and the achievement of their performance objectives. Awards are paid in recognition of excellent performance throughout the appraisal year. Reward arrangements for staff in the Senior Civil Service are based on recommendations by the independent Senior Salaries Review Body.
	HM Treasury also pays non-consolidated special performance awards to recognise exceptional performance for specific contributions or pieces of work during the year, or for situations outside the normal expectations of a post.
	The following table gives details of the amounts paid and number of recipients of non-consolidated performance awards paid in 2008-09. For details of previous years, I refer the hon. Lady to the answer my predecessor gave to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 17 November 2008,  Official Report, column 164W.
	
		
			  HM Treasury non-consolidated performance pay awards paid in 2008-09 
			   No of staff( 1)  Amount paid (£000)( 2) 
			 Performance awards(3) 437 1,090 
			 Special performance awards(4) 411 164 
			 (1) Non-consolidated awards were paid in 2008-09 in respect of staff performance in the 2007-08 performance appraisal year. (2) Special performance awards are paid at various times during the year, and may relate to specific contributions or pieces of work completed in the previous year. (3) The number of staff receiving bonuses includes individuals who received more than one bonus in the period. (4) The amounts paid by HM Treasury excludes amounts recovered from external organisations to which staff were seconded at the time of payment.

Departmental Pay

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff in his Department had a salary of more than £64,000 in the latest year for which figures are available.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: 91 members of staff currently working at HM Treasury have a full-time equivalent consolidated base salary of more than £64,000.

Departmental Redundancy

Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff have  (a) been dismissed and  (b) had their contract terminated by the Department in each of the last five years; what the reason cited in each case was; and what the severance costs in relation to (i) dismissal and (ii) contract termination in each year were.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: HM Treasury defines a dismissal as either the termination of a permanent contract for a major breach of its terms, or the non-renewal of a fixed-term contract. HM Treasury does not provide information relating to numbers of staff fewer than five where to do so might lead to the identification of protected information concerning individual cases.
	In each of the five years to 2008-09, fewer than five permanent staff were dismissed from HM Treasury. The table below shows the number and costs of non-renewals of fixed-term contracts in those years; of these 351 contracts, 167 related to staff working at HM Treasury under its student placement schemes.
	
		
			  Fixed-term contracts not renewed at HM Treasury 2004-05 to 2008-09 
			   Number  Costs (£000) 
			 2004-05 74 - 
			 2005-06 49 0-5 
			 2006-07 62 - 
			 2007-08 97 - 
			 2008-09 69 -

Financial Services Authority

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria the Financial Services Authority takes into account in regulating the take-over of listed public companies by Kazakh companies; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Lucas: holding answer 16 September 2009
	I have been asked to reply.
	The Takeover Panel is the authority designated to supervise and regulate takeovers in the UK.
	The Panel's statutory functions are set out in part 28 of the Companies Act 2006 and include powers to make rules governing the orderly conduct of takeovers in the UK as set out in the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers.
	It would therefore be for the Panel to decide on issues of non-compliance with the rules in respect of takeovers in the UK. They may seek to enforce breaches of the Code through the courts and the Financial Services Authority.

Insolvency: EC Action

Michael Fallon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the likely cost to  (a) the public purse,  (b) insurance companies and  (c) individuals of implementing the draft EU Solvency II Directive.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: holding answer 12 October 2009
	A final estimate of the impact of the EU Solvency Directive cannot be made until the Commission publishes its proposals for Level 2 implementing measures. The Government's initial assessment of the impact is set out in the Explanatory Memorandum on the Level 1 Directive EM 6996/08: Amended proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the taking-up and pursuit of the business of Insurance and Re-insurance, Solvency II.

Overseas Trade: Kazakhstan

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on encouraging reciprocal investments between Kazakh and listed public companies; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Lucas: holding answer 16 September 2009
	I have been asked to reply.
	The aim of UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) is to help companies to realise opportunities around the world that will deliver an economic benefit to the UK. To do this UKTI prioritises the markets that we are active in. UKTI offers a full range of services for companies who wish to do business in Kazakhstan through trade and investment teams based in Astana and Atyrau.
	UKTI actively encourages investment into the UK from companies in many developed and some emerging markets. Although Kazakhstan is not a priority market for inward investment, UKTI assistance would be available to Kazakh companies who were interested in investing here.

Tax Collection: Administration

Ben Wallace: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the administration costs to HM Revenue and Customs of implementing the changes to tax collection recommended by the Calman Commission report.

Stephen Timms: The Government are considering carefully the recommendations made in the report by the Commission on Scottish Devolution chaired by Professor Sir Kenneth Calman, including issues around implementation.

Taxation: British Overseas Territories

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Exchequer received in taxation from UK overseas territories in the latest period for which figures are available.

Stephen Timms: Taxation is a devolved competence in the UK overseas territories under the terms of their constitutions and UK tax legislation does not apply to them. Exceptionally, however, three overseas territories apply a withholding tax on income from savings of UK residents under the terms of an agreement with the UK providing for measures equivalent to the European Savings Directive.
	The amounts paid to the United Kingdom by those overseas territories in relation to these withholding taxes for the most recent year available are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Special Withholding Tax Received by the United Kingdom by virtue of European Savings Directive or equivalent agreements: Overseas Territory period ending in UK Tax year 2008- 09,  tax received in 2009 (as at September 2009) 
			Amount of withholding tax 
			  UK Overseas territories  Year end  Approx. £ equivalent 
			 British Virgin Islands 31 December 2008 2,470.39 
			 Gibraltar 30 June 2008 379,801.55 
			 Turks and Caicos Islands 30 September 2008 2,901.36

SCOTLAND

Departmental Motor Vehicles

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spent on hire vehicles in each of the last five financial years.

Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office spend on hire vehicles in each of the last five financial years was as follows:
	
		
			   Cost (£) 
			 2004-05 10,938 
			 2005-06 20,610 
			 2006-07 10,441 
			 2007-08 17,786 
			 2008-09 19,076 
		
	
	The figures do not include the Government Car Service London costs for which I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement issued on 16 July 2009,  Official Report, column 79WS.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which Minister in his Department has been assigned responsibility for overseeing the delivery of value for money in his Department; whether his Department has established a public sector reform team to implement service reforms; and if he will make a statement.

Ann McKechin: I have responsibility for overseeing the delivery of value for money at the Scotland Office. The Secretary of State and I both take an active role in ensuring that the Scotland Office delivers value for money in all its activities. The Scotland Office does not directly deliver services, so has not established a dedicated public sector reform team.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Departmental Pay

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what employee reward schemes are offered to staff of his Department; what the purpose of each scheme is; how many staff participate in each scheme; and what the cost of operating each scheme was in each of the last five years.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development operates non-consolidated performance related pay award schemes for:
	Senior Civil Servants (SCS)
	Staff in grades below SCS
	The number of staff eligible and the cost of operating the schemes in the last five years are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Non-consolidated performance related award scheme 
			Cost (£) per year 
			   Number of eligible staff  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 SCS 98 266,750 377,100 504,000 641,510 634,150 
			 Below SCS grade 1520 230,600 515,865(1) 558,233 199,670(2) 736,815 
			 (1) The significant increase in the value of awards from 2005-06 onwards is because changes to the Special Achievement Awards (SAA) scheme were introduced as part of a new pay deal in 2004-05. (2) The SAA scheme for DFID staff below the SCS ended on 31 July 2007, with IBAS not becoming effective until the following reporting year (2008-09). 
		
	
	These non-consolidated costs are contained within the overall increases for pay awards agreed with HM Treasury as a small percentage of the total pay bills. Performance awards are not guaranteed and have to be re-earned each year. The main purposes of both schemes are to:
	have clear links between pay and performance
	encourage and reward sustained high performance against set criteria
	comply with central Cabinet Office and HM Treasury frameworks and guidelines on pay and reward.

Developing Countries: Internet

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many children have accessed the One World Zone of the Gold Star Café internet site funded by his Department through the Development Awareness Fund.

Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development (DFID) funded the One World Zone of the Gold Star Cafe internet site through the Development Awareness Fund from April 2006 to March 2009. During the three years of DFID support to the zone, there were approximately 90,000 visits.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Breaking the Silence: Finance

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much funding his Department provided through UK embassies and overseas missions to the non-governmental organisation Breaking the Silence between April 2006 and April 2009.

Ivan Lewis: The Government have spent £78,701 since April 2006 to support Breaking the Silence's educational tours of Hebron. This financial year we have allocated a further £38,233 to Breaking the Silence, again for their educational tours of Hebron.
	The Government fund Breaking the Silence through the Conflict Prevention Pool, which is managed jointly by the Department for International Development, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence. It is a shared budget to support the Government's conflict prevention policies.

Departmental Manpower

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff there were in his Department  (a) in 1997 and  (b) on the latest date for which figures are available.

Chris Bryant: There have been numerous organisational changes in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) since 1997. Explaining changes in staff strength over that period is, therefore, not straightforward. In 1997 the FCO employed 5,539 Full Time Equivalent UK based staff, including those working on entry clearance. The comparable figure for 1 October 2009 is 5,478. This includes just under 950 staff in FCO Services, which is now a Trading Fund but excludes staff working on entry clearance. This function has transferred to the UK Border Agency (UKBA)-an agency of the Home Office.
	The reduction in FCO numbers since 1997 is the net effect of:
	the transfer to UKBA of the entry clearance function;
	expansion in the consular and migration functions; and
	efficiency savings in other areas.

Iraq: Iran

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the government of Iraq on the treatment of those living in Camp Ashraf.

Ivan Lewis: Our ambassador in Iraq met with the Iraqi Human Rights Minister on 6 October 2009 to discuss the situation at Camp Ashraf and the latest developments surrounding the 36 camp residents who were arrested on 28 July 2009. Our ambassador has also raised the issue with the Iraqi Prime Minister's office and the Minister of Internal Affairs.
	We remain in close contact with the US, UN and EU, who regularly discuss the issues around the camp with the Iraqi authorities. Also, our UK Representative to the UN in Geneva has also discussed the situation with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
	Officials from our embassy in Baghdad visited the camp on Saturday 26 September 2009. They confirmed that Iraqi police and Iraqi Security Forces were present inside the camp, and were co-operating peacefully with the residents.

Members: Correspondence

John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to reply to the letter of 11 March from the right hon. Member for Tonbridge and Malling on behalf of Mrs. Debra Guneri.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 14 September 2009
	I have been asked to reply.
	The right hon. Member's letter was passed to me for reply and I replied on 7 September.

Members: Correspondence

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will request the High Commissioner to South Africa to ensure that the hon. Member for West Chelmsford receives a response to the matters raised in his letters to the High Commissioner of 17 July 2009, 13 August 2009 and 7 September 2009 and his telephone conversations with the High Commissioner on 16 September 2009 about the case of Mr. Ian Freshwater of Chelmsford.

Chris Bryant: Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have drawn this request to the attention of the South African high commission in London. Officials at the South African high commission will follow up this request.

Morocco: Travel Restrictions

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received concerning  (a) the detention in Morocco of six Western Saharan students who were to travel to the UK and  (b) Morocco's obligations under Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Ivan Lewis: The Government have received representations from the UK-based Western Sahara Campaign, the Talk Together project in Oxford and the UN Association of Great Britain and Northern Ireland about the case of the Moroccan and Saharwi students prevented from travelling to the UK on 5 August 2009 to attend a conference on cross-cultural understanding and conflict resolution, organised by Talk Together.

Razouk Choummad

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will ask HM Ambassador in Rabat to investigate the detention on 1 September 2009 of Mr. Razouk Choummad.

Ivan Lewis: Our ambassador to Morocco and his staff at our embassy in Rabat have already sought clarification from the Moroccan Government regarding Mr. Razouk Choummad and the other Sahrawi students due to take part in an event in Oxford in August this year.
	The Government made clear to the Moroccan authorities that they regretted that the students had been prevented from travelling to the UK and that they were concerned by allegations of the disproportionate use of force.
	The Moroccan Government have told us that they remain open to participating in future events organised by Talk Together and have investigated the allegations of mistreatment, which they deny. We will continue to seek further clarification from the Moroccan authorities.

Yemen: Armed Conflict

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will discuss the conflict in Yemen with his Saudi Arabian counterpart.

Ivan Lewis: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed Yemen with His Royal Highness Prince Saud Al Faisal on a number of occasions, most recently earlier this month. The UK and Saudi Arabia are both committed to supporting the Government of Yemen in addressing the difficult challenges they face, including the conflict in the Northern region of Sa'dah.
	We have welcomed the commitment by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to work with the UN to facilitate the safe passage of emergency relief supplies to the internally displaced persons in Northern Yemen. The UK will provide £2 million of additional humanitarian aid to the situation.
	I will continue to discuss the situation in Yemen with His Royal Highness as and when the opportunity arises, and my officials will remain in regular contact with their Saudi counterparts.

DEFENCE

Armed Conflict: Children

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to review the operation of the interpretative declaration on article 1 of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict for the purposes of  (a) taking steps to ensure that children are not exposed to the risk of taking direct part in hostilities and  (b) monitoring Government compliance with the spirit of the Optional Protocol.

Bill Rammell: There are no plans to review the operation of the interpretative declaration on article 1 of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict. Government policy is that Service Personnel under the age of 18 are not routinely deployed on operations outside the UK. The exception to this is where the operation does not involve personnel becoming engaged in or exposed to hostilities, such as disaster relief.
	The MOD believes that its policies on under 18s are robust and compliant with national and international law. We remain fully committed to meeting our obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict.

Armed Conflict: Children

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what training has been delivered to armed forces personnel on the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict; and how many such personnel have completed that training.

Bill Rammell: All members of the armed forces receive training on the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC) shortly after joining and regularly throughout their careers.
	The UK armed forces do not routinely train all personnel on the Optional Protocol specifically, but personnel involved in handling prisoners of war, internees and detainees receive training which addresses the handling of juveniles and children.

Electronic Warfare

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has held with his US counterpart on vulnerability to electromagnetic pulse attacks; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 12 October 2009
	Defence equipment and systems are procured against a set of specifications that includes appropriate protection against electromagnetic attack. These specifications are informed by appropriate consultation at expert level with relevant experts.

Littoral Warfare: Helicopters

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of training provided for helicopter pilots participating in amphibious operations.

Bill Rammell: The UK amphibious helicopter capability is provided by the Commando Helicopter Force operating Sea King Mk 4 and Lynx Mk 7 helicopters, augmented when required by Chinook and Apache helicopters.
	The initial training provided to helicopter pilots as part of the Commando Helicopter Force is considered satisfactory. The tempo of land operations over recent years has had an impact on the ability to conduct amphibious operations. Nevertheless, small scale exercises have been achieved and a minimal level of currency and competency for amphibious operations maintained.

Military Aircraft: Helicopters

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the timescale is within which the helicopter fund announced by the Prime Minister will deliver 11 helicopters.

Bob Ainsworth: The first helicopters will be deployed in Afghanistan before the end of 2009. On current plans, further deliveries will take place in 2010 and will complete by the end of 2013.
	Additional contributions to the fund would increase the total.

Military Aircraft: Helicopters

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the length of time it would take  (a) to place an order for new Merlin helicopters,  (b) for Agusta Westland to manufacture the new helicopters and  (c) for the armed forces to bring the new helicopters into service after delivery.

Quentin Davies: We recently reviewed whether the acquisition of new medium helicopters could be advanced in lieu of the planned life-extension of the Puma helicopter. Several companies, including Agusta Westland provided outline cost and delivery information for their potential candidate aircraft in support of this review. For reasons of commercial confidentiality, we cannot disclose details of their proposals, including delivery estimates.
	More generally, the timescales for procurement decisions are dependent on the urgency of the capability need, the value and complexity of the procurement, and the time needed to demonstrate that the solution meets the requirement and represents value for money. We have 'fast track' arrangements for those capabilities required urgently for operations. Once manufactured, it can take significant time to bring a helicopter to the standard required to meet any role, mission or theatre specific requirements, to train crews (and maintainers) accordingly, and to ensure that the aircraft meets the required specification and airworthiness standards, and can withstand the rigours of war.

Territorial Army: Training

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effects on the deployability of the Territorial Army of the limitation on man training days.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 12 October 2009
	The Army is on a campaign footing with activity focused on support to current operations.
	Man training days are being prioritized to ensure that mobilised TA personnel continue to be properly prepared for their operational roles, prior to deploying alongside their regular counterparts.

HEALTH

Cancer Services

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of provision of cancer services in  (a) Billericay constituency and  (b) England; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The first annual report of the "Cancer Reform Strategy", published in December 2008, is the most recent assessment of cancer service provision in England. The report showed that good progress is being made against the objectives of the Strategy.
	Funding for local health services has been allocated to primary care trusts (PCTs) on the basis of the relative needs of their populations. It is therefore for South West Essex PCT in partnership with East of England Strategic Health Authority and the local Cancer Network to make an assessment of cancer services in Billericay.

Dentistry

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of levels of access to NHS dentistry in England.

Ann Keen: More than 27.6 million people saw an NHS dentist in the 24 months ending June 2009. This is almost three quarters of a million more than in the same period ending June 2008. The number of dentists working in the NHS, and the number of courses of NHS dental treatment provided are also growing steadily. We have invested a record £2 billion in dentistry and set up a national access programme to help the NHS deliver its goal of access for all who seek it by 2011. We therefore expect access to continue to increase.

PCT Boundaries

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of the restructuring of primary care trust boundaries on the delivery of healthcare.

Mike O'Brien: Proposals for the reconfiguration of services are a matter for the NHS locally, working in conjunction with clinicians, patients and other stakeholders and advocated through Lord Darzi's 2008 publication "Leading Local Change".

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to receive an application for foundation trust status from East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust.

Mike O'Brien: I expect East Lancashire Hospitals National Health Service Trust to make a foundation trust application late in 2010.

Emergency Care

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the delivery of emergency care in  (a) independent sector treatment centres and  (b) NHS hospitals.

Mike O'Brien: Independent sector treatment centres provide elective care, not emergency care.
	Primary care trusts commission national health service hospital trusts to provide emergency care services according to local needs and monitor performance.
	The Department has set an operational standard that 98 per cent. of patients should not spend more than four hours in accident and emergency departments.
	National annual performance against the standard was 98.1 per cent. in 2008-09.

Strategic Health Authorities

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the role of strategic health authorities in promoting public health.

Gillian Merron: The Strategic Health Authority Assurance Framework reaffirms their role in promoting public health by including a specific section on "Improving and protecting Health and Wellbeing".
	Combining self-assessments and site visits, a Panel chaired by the Department will assess performance against the Framework over the next few months.

Swine Flu

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to assist acute hospital trusts in which levels of accident and emergency department admissions have increased as a result of the swine influenza pandemic.

Gillian Merron: The NHS, including acute hospitals, has been preparing for pandemic influenza for several years, and all organisations have robust plans in place that cover the whole health economy. These have recently been tested by a series of comprehensive exercises and confirmed by each Board's assurance statements during September.
	The Department has also issued guidance on surging capacity so that hospitals can care for increased numbers of admissions.

National No Smoking Day

Richard Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has to fund National No Smoking Day in 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: We will make funding available for No Smoking Day's 2010 campaign at around the same level as last year, on a regional basis.

Waiting Times

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the length of waiting times in North Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: In July 2009, 99.4 per cent. of admitted patients, and 98 per cent. of non-admitted patients at the trust started consultant-led treatment within 18 weeks of referral.
	Staff at the trust should be congratulated for their efforts in helping to bring about this achievement.

Out-of-hours Care: London

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the provision and quality of out-of-hours care in London.

Mike O'Brien: Primary care trusts have a legal requirement to provide high quality out-of-hours cover for the local population, and strategic health authorities are responsible for the performance management of PCTs in their region. The 2008 Healthcare Commission review of urgent and emergency care found that the NHS has significantly improved performance since 2005.

PCT Funding

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the primary care trust allocation formula used in 2009-10.

Mike O'Brien: The independent Advisory Committee on resource allocation keeps the formula under continual scrutiny, updating it to account for new information and data, changes in service provision and health outcomes. The 2009-10 formula builds and improves on the previous formula, targeting funding where it is needed most.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Greater London

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many accident and emergency departments in Greater London were not open 24 hours a day on the latest date for which information is available.

Mike O'Brien: By definition a Type 1 accident and emergency (A&E) department must be open 24 hours a day. All other types of A&E departments need not be open for that period. The opening times of departments are not collected centrally.

Acute Beds

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) acute and  (b) critical care beds were reported in situation reports to his Department as being in use in hospitals in each week since 1 April 2009.

Mike O'Brien: The requested information is contained in the following table. This is a snapshot of the number of beds available at midnight on the Thursday of the week. The availability of beds nationally will vary on an almost constant basis and therefore these figures should not be compared with data on critical care bed availability published in other formats. The data are validated locally but may be subject to revisions.
	
		
			  Number of acute and critical care beds, available and occupied, England, each week since April 2009 
			  Period  Adult critical care beds at midnight on the Thursday of the reporting period  Number of neonatal critical care cots (or beds) at midnight on the Thursday of the reporting period  Number of paediatric critical care beds at midnight on the Thursday of the reporting period  Total number of acute hospital beds at midnight on the Thursday of the reporting period 
			  Week ending :  Available  Occupied  Available  Occupied  Available  Occupied  Available  Occupied 
			 5 April 2009 3,265 2,901 1,081 816 359 258 104,869 95,509 
			 12 April 2009 3,282 2,852 1,076 803 378 254 101,921 88,669 
			 19 April 2009 3,313 2,862 1,088 812 357 267 104,550 93,411 
			 26 April 2009 3,312 2,835 1,083 801 369 262 103,495 91,977 
			 3 May 2009 3,307 2,885 1,066 819 320 221 103,032 91,719 
			 10 May 2009 3,373 2,855 1,108 856 367 269 103,367 93,145 
			 17 May 2009 3,335 2,915 1,087 866 355 257 103,565 93,079 
			 24 May 2009 3,361 2,825 1,089 854 365 258 103,495 92,682 
			 31 May 2009 3,379 2,857 1,074 812 350 243 104,057 91,133 
			 7 June 2009 3,279 2,911 1,085 824 374 258 103,096 92,194 
			 14 June 2009 3,316 2,897 1,111 848 352 247 103,705 91,663 
			 21 June 2009 3,302 2,846 1,082 830 372 264 102,918 90,883 
			 28 June 2009 3,321 2,740 1,083 827 360 262 103,102 90,804 
			 5 July 2009 3,318 2,789 1,099 791 364 250 103,021 91,984 
			 12 July 2009 3,356 2,888 1,098 835 349 247 102,791 91,128 
			 19 July 2009 3,352 2,830 1,121 820 359 236 101,699 89,175 
			 26 July 2009 3,301 2,801 1,120 825 357 238 102,787 89,077 
			 2 August 2009 3,319 2,748 1,114 786 360 240 102,421 87,995 
			 9 August 2009 3,384 2,752 1,109 767 362 237 102,651 88,478 
			 16 August 2009 3,388 2,739 1,117 761 360 244 102,415 88,532 
			 23 August 2009 3,335 2,691 1,133 809 402 268 101,333 90,410 
			 30 August 2009 3,329 2,683 1,125 807 389 258 102,317 88,378 
			 6 September 2009 3,370 2,725 1,119 810 328 216 102,027 89,143 
			  Note s : 1. Data within the 'Weekly SitReps' collection are subject to revision. Therefore data may differ from previous submissions. 2. Acute beds collected on the 'Weekly SitReps' collection is a voluntary data item. 3. Data are provided from the start of the financial year, which for SitReps means the first week is week ending 5 April 2009.  Source: Department of Health form-Weekly SitReps

Breastfeeding

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have called the National Breastfeeding Helpline in each of the last two years.

Ann Keen: The National Breastfeeding Helpline was launched in February 2008. Since then, there has been a steady increase in the number of calls received. The total number of calls received between February 2008 and August 2009 is 24,087 as shown in the following table.
	
		
			  2008-09  Number of calls received 
			 February 2008 to February 2009 11,430 
			 March 2009 to August 2009 12,657 
			 Total 24,087

Cancer: Diagnosis

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many additional  (a) staff,  (b) diagnostic centres and  (c) diagnostics machines he estimates will be required to implement his proposals to provide patients with access to cancer diagnostics within one week of concerns being raised.

Ann Keen: On 29 September, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister announced plans to offer all patients in England access to tests which can confirm or exclude cancer within one week.
	Remarkable progress has been made in reducing diagnostic waiting times to date. In April 2006 (when figures for diagnostic waiting times were first published) there were 404,200 waits over six weeks for diagnostic tests and the average time waited was six weeks. The number of waits over six weeks at the end of August 2009 was 4,000-a reduction of 98.9 per cent.-and patients can now expect to wait on average under two weeks for a diagnostic test.
	Due to the record investment that this Government have already made since 1997, there are more than 42,000 extra scientific and therapeutic staff. By 2008, the number of consultants working in radiology had increased by 54 per cent. to 2,269, and the number of qualified radiographers employed in the national health service by 28 per cent. to 15,600, 13,400 of whom were working in diagnostics therefore the NHS is very well placed to deliver this commitment.
	The commitment will be phased in over five years and where extra staff are required, these will be developed with the NHS and reflect service redesign and new models of delivery. The NHS already has a solid platform on which to build.
	The appropriate balance between expanding existing diagnostic capacity and developing new models of delivery such as diagnostics centres will be considered in consultation with the National Quality Board and the NHS.
	Initial estimates are that the extra activity required by the NHS in England over the five years of the programme equates to 155 pieces of Ultrasound equipment, 75 in Computed Tomography, 60 for Magnetic Resource Imaging, and 85 for Endoscopy , but this does not mean that the NHS will need to purchase this many new machines. Additional equipment requirements will be worked up with the NHS taking in to account new models of delivery and changes in working practices.
	The proposal takes forward the commitment in the Government's "Cancer Reform" Strategy published in 2007, a copy of which has already been placed in the Library, to improve access to diagnostics in primary care. We will be consulting widely on the implementation of these proposals, working with the NHS, key stakeholders and the professions to ensure that this commitment to patients is successfully delivered.

Cancer: Diagnosis

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much he expects his proposals to provide patients with access to cancer diagnostics within one week of concerns being raised to cost  (a) in each financial year for which figures are available and  (b) in (i) capital and (ii) revenue costs over the period of the programme; and from which budgets the funding for the proposals will be taken.

Ann Keen: Further work is being undertaken to finalise the costs of implementing these plans, to refine the modelling and assumptions that underlie them. This will take account of the investment made to date in improving cancer and diagnostic services and new models of delivery.
	Remarkable progress has been made in reducing diagnostic waiting times to date. In April 2006 (when figures for diagnostic waiting times were first published) there were 404,200 waits over six weeks for diagnostic tests and the average time waited was six weeks. The number of waits over six weeks at the end of August 2009 was 4,000-a reduction of 98 per cent.-and patients can now expect to wait on average under two weeks for a diagnostic test.
	Initial estimates are as follows:
	Capital costs will be about £650 million between the periods 2011-12 and 2014-15.
	Early estimates of revenue costs are in the region of £1,250 million between the periods 2011-12 and 2014-15.
	Final costing requirements and profiling will be worked up over the coming months in consultation with the national health service taking into account new models of delivery and changes in working practices.
	The proposal takes forward the commitment in the Government's Cancer Reform Strategy published in 2007 to improve access to diagnostics in primary care. We will be consulting widely on the implementation of these proposals, working with the NHS, key stakeholders and the professions to ensure that this commitment to patients is successfully delivered.
	The major programme of renovating and rebuilding NHS hospitals is nearing completion. As this winds down it will release the resources to switch into new diagnostic equipment.

CJD: Screening

Charles Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when his Department expects to commence the second stage of trials for the anticipated blood test for variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: Evaluation of prototype variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease blood test is ongoing, and results of the latest round of tests are expected to be considered by the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease Resource Centre Oversight Committee by the end of the year.

Departmental Advertising

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which initiatives of  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have been advertised in each of the last five years; how much was spent in each case; and which initiatives were advertised via the Central Office of Information.

Phil Hope: The following table shows the Department's advertising expenditure over the last five completed financial years. A further breakdown of these figures is available in the Library.
	All departmental advertising listed as follows was carried out via the Central Office of Information (COI), with the exception of those initiatives highlighted with an asterisk. To identify other ad hoc expenditure not carried out via the COI would incur disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Department of Health advertising spend( 1)  2004-05 to 2008-09 
			  £ million 
			  Campaign  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09( 2) 
			 Alcohol(3) 0.00 0.00 0.56 0.61 4.77 
			 Antibiotics 0.00 0.38 0.00 0.39 1.15 
			 Change4Life 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 7.69 
			 Drugs(4) 0.91 0.18 1.34 0.67 1.45 
			 Flu (Immunisation) 1.45 1.83 1.11 0.98 1.42 
			 Hepatitis C 0.00 0.00 0.52 1.34 1.30 
			 HPV Vaccination 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 2.80 
			 Immunisation 0.00 0.00 1.66 0.00 0.32 
			 National Health Service including nurse recruitment 5.96 0.22 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 NHS Injury Benefits Scheme 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.40 0.00 
			 NHS Choices* 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.03 0.55 
			 Patient Choice* 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.53 
			 Respiratory and Hand Hygiene 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.32 1.53 
			 Sexual health/teenage pregnancy 1.40 0.00 2.88 3.11 2.83 
			 Social care/worker recruitment 1.80 2.42 2.31 2.22 2.03 
			 Smoking-Tobacco Control 20.05 20.80 13.17 10.79 23.38 
			 Stroke 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 4.52 
			 Tobacco Legislation 0.00 0.00 0.32 5.38 0.00 
			 Winter (Get the right treatment/ask about medicines day) 0.54 0.59 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 5 a Day 0.06 0.05 0.05 0.00 0.00 
			 E111/EHIC 0.24 1.00 0.00 0.00 0.16 
			 Department of Health outdoor campaign 0.32 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 Totals 32.73 27.47 23.92 26.24 56.43 
			 (1) Advertising spend is defined as covering only media spend (inclusive of agency commissions but excluding production costs, COI commission and VAT). All figures exclude advertising rebates and audit adjustments and therefore may differ from COI official turnover figures. All figures are rounded to the nearest £10,000. These figures do not include departmental recruitment/classified advertising costs and ad hoc spend under £10,000. These figures may include occasional minor spend through COI by NHS organisations, to supplement national campaigns in their area. While this expenditure has been excluded as far as possible so that this chart reflects central departmental spend, it would incur disproportionate cost to validate that every item of NHS expenditure has been removed. (2) Provisional figures. (3) From 2006-07 Department of Health contribution to campaign run jointly with Home Office. (4) Department of Health contribution to campaign run jointly with Home Office.

Departmental Electronic Equipment

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) mobile telephones, (b) Blackberrys and  (c) laptop computers, were issued to staff of his Department in each of the last five years; and how many of these were issued to (i) new staff and (ii) existing staff following the (A) loss or (B) theft of a previous device.

Phil Hope: The Department does not hold detailed historic information about its issue of mobile devices to staff, but with the advent of the new Human Resources System, Business Management System, and Asset Management tools, we can say that, as at the end of August 2009, the number of mobile assets allocated to staff or business unite was as follows:
	Laptops: 2,431
	Blackberry: 1,334
	Mobile telephones: 1,008.
	In addition the Department does not differentiate between devices issued to new staff or existing staff and therefore does not hold this information. However, the following table gives the number of devices lost or stolen in the last five years.
	
		
			  Losses and thefts for period April 2005 to March 2009 
			   Mobile telephones  Blackberrys  Laptops 
			 2004-05 15 2 23 
			 2005-06 11 4 18 
			 2006-07 18 5 11 
			 2007-08 21 9 14 
			 2008-09 18 22 34 
			 Totals 83 42 100

Departmental Manpower

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff there were in his Department  (a) in 1997 and  (b) on the latest date for which figures are available.

Phil Hope: According to the Departmental Report for 1998, there were 4,486 full time equivalent (FTE) civil servants in the 1996-97 financial year.
	According to the Departmental Report for 2009 annual report there were 2,222 FTE civil servants in the 2008-09 financial year.
	The Departmental Reports for the above years and the intervening years can be found at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/AnnualReports/index.htm#jumpTol

Departmental Marketing

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the budget of his Department for publicity is in 2009-10.

Phil Hope: A total budget figure for the 2009-10 financial year cannot be provided at this stage as detailed planning for some campaigns is under way and advertising media allocations have not yet been finalised.
	The Department's expenditure on advertising for the 2009-10 financial year to date is approximately £29.6 million.
	This figure does not include the Department's recruitment/classified advertising costs. Advertising spend is defined as covering only media spend (inclusive of agency commissions but excluding production costs, Central Office of Information commission and VAT). All figures exclude advertising rebates and audit adjustments and therefore may differ from Central Office of Information official turnover figures.

Departmental Pay

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what employee reward schemes are offered to staff of his Department; what the purpose of each scheme is; how many staff participate in each scheme; and what the cost of operating each scheme was in each of the last five years.

Phil Hope: The Department operates two reward systems for its permanent staff. The first, which is for staff below the Senior Civil Service (SCS), is geared towards recruiting and retaining staff with the right qualities to drive high performance within the organisation. The second system for SCS is based on annual recommendations from the independent Senior Salaries Review Body and its terms of reference can be found in its latest report at the following website:
	www.ome.uk.com/review.cfm?body=4
	The Department and its agencies also operate a scheme which allows managers to recognise outstanding contributions in particularly demanding situations. These in-year non-consolidated performance payments (IYNCPPs) for the past five years are shown in the following table. The growth in payments over the last three years is related to the abolition of pay flexibilities in the Department's 2006 Reward Strategy and the scheme is currently under review.
	The Department operates a long service award scheme-a reward of either a monetary nature or special leave, which is given to staff in recognition of having served for more than 20 years. The figures available for the monetary payments are presented as follows. The information about leave taken instead of payment is not held centrally and would incur disproportional cost to establish.
	
		
			  Monetary payments 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			   £  Number  £  Number  £  Number  £  Number £  Number 
			 IYNCPPs 420,720.92 555 351,886.09 405 326,897.99 256 486,257.55 457 709,386.14 786 
			 Long service award 4,200.00 21 3,200.00 15 3,200.00 16 3,000.00 15 2,400.00 12 
			 Total 424,920.92 576 355,086.09 420 330,097.99 272 489,257.55 472 711,786.14 798 
		
	
	The Department runs a child care voucher scheme and a cycle to work scheme.
	Overall staff costs and numbers can be found in the Resource Accounts for each year. The websites for these documents are as follows:
	 2004-05
	www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc0506/hc06/0668/0668.asp
	 2005-06
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_063170
	 2006-07
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_081317
	 2007-08
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/DH_089421
	 2008-09
	www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc0809/hc04/0456/0456.asp

Departmental Work Experience

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provision is made to enable students to undertake work experience in his Department; and by what means members of the public may obtain information about work experience in his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The Department has committed to five places on the New Graduate Internships Programme announced by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills earlier this year.
	The Department has placed nine students on the Cabinet Office's Ethnic Minority Summer Development Programme this summer. This offers training placements in Government Departments to high calibre candidates from black and ethnic minority backgrounds or those with disabilities, with the aim of increasing representation from those groups in the Fast Stream and Senior Civil Service.
	The Department also regularly takes on one-year placement students and summer students within the analytical community.
	In addition, some directorates arrange work experience placements locally. As this information is not recorded centrally, it would incur disproportionate costs to collect all the information requested.

Diabetes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much and what proportion of the expenditure of each primary care trust was spent on  (a) all services relating to diabetes and  (b) campaigns to increase awareness of diabetes in the latest year for which information is available.

Ann Keen: Estimates of primary care trusts' (PCTs) expenditure on diabetes are available from the programme budget returns.
	A table which shows the estimated PCT reported expenditure on diabetes for 2007-08 in England has been placed in the Library. It should be noted that these figures do not include prevention expenditure or General Medical Services/Primary Medical services expenditure.
	It is not possible to identify PCT expenditure on campaigns to raise awareness of diabetes.

General Practitioners: Training

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GP surgeries have  (a) applied for and  (b) been granted funding to upgrade to become training practices in each strategic health authority area; how much has been granted to each successful surgery; and what assessment has been made of the effect of the length of implementation timescales on the (A) number and (B) quality of applications.

Mike O'Brien: The number of general practitioner (GP) surgeries that applied for funding and the amount awarded to each practice is not available centrally.
	More than 800 GP practices have been granted funding to improve and extend training facilities, significantly more than 600 envisaged at the outset of the programme.

Haemophilia

Charles Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether tissue or blood samples taken from UK haemophiliacs, and held as library samples, have been tested for the presence of diseases in the last three years without disclosure to the patients concerned; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The Department is not aware of any cases where samples from United Kingdom haemophiliacs have been tested without appropriate consent being given.

Heart Diseases: Health Services

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to improve access to angioplasty services in  (a) Cumbria and  (b) Lancaster.

Ann Keen: It is the responsibility of primary care trusts (PCTs) to plan, develop and improve health services according to the health care needs of their local populations. PCTs in Cumbria and Lancashire work closely with the Cumbria and Lancashire Cardiac Network to improve the quality of care for those affected by coronary heart disease. This is monitored by the PCTs and the North West strategic health authority in its role of overseeing performance.

Heroin: Clinical Trials

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what methodology his Department used to calculate the average cost per patient of its clinical trials of medicalised heroin injections; how many patients undergoing the trials had a previous criminal record including a custodial sentence; how many patients were under the age of 30; and how many patients did not complete the trial.

Ann Keen: The results of the Randomised Injectable Opioid Treatment Trial are currently being written up by the National Addiction Centre which led this research. Once the report is published, a copy will be placed in the Library.

Home Care Services

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much he expects his Department's proposals to give 350,000 people free personal home care to cost per year; from which budgets he expects the money to be drawn; how much is to be drawn from each budget; and what consequential reductions he expects to be made in other programmes funded from such budgets;
	(2)  what methodology he has used to define highest need in his proposals to give 350,000 people with the highest needs free personal home care; how he has calculated that there are 350,000 people in need of this level of care; what estimate he has made of the average amount to be spent on each person per week under the proposals; how many hours of care each will receive on average per week; and whether he has included in the 350,000 anyone who presently receives any proportion of their home care free of charge.

Phil Hope: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has announced that the funding for the first full year would be £670 million. We will be working with stakeholders over the coming months and further clarity on the scope of the proposals will be published in due course. The money for this policy will be met from reprioritised central budgets and we will be working with stakeholders to make sure other services are not affected. We will need to ensure legislation is brought into force to define what high needs will be covered by this announcement in time for its commencement in October 2010.

Hospital Wards: Closures

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital trusts in London have closed in-patient wards in the last 12 months.

Mike O'Brien: These data are not collected centrally.

Hospitals: Construction

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much he expects to be spent on each hospital building programme in each of the next five financial years.

Mike O'Brien: The public capital budget for the next financial year 2010-11 is £4,822 million (including Personal Social Services). However, full details of the capital expenditure programme for 2010-11 have not yet been finalised, which includes expenditure on public capital funded hospital building schemes.
	Budgets for 2011-12 to 2013-14 will be decided as part of the next spending review.
	The estimated capital expenditure arising from Private Finance Initiative hospital build schemes already under construction over the next five financial years is shown in table 1.
	The capital values of public capital funded hospital build schemes over £10 million under construction (for which information is held centrally) and which will not complete until 1 April 2010 or later are shown in table 2.
	
		
			  Table 1: Private finance schemes under construction (plus the £418 million North Bristol NHS trust scheme) 
			 Estimated capital expenditure (£ million) 
			  Trust  Description  Estimated completion date  2010-11  2011-12  2012-13  2013-14  2014-15 
			 Tameside NHS Hospital Foundation Trust Integration of services onto one site Q4 2010 25 - - - - 
			 North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust Reconfiguration of Acute Hospital services Q2 2010 12 - - - - 
			 Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust Modernisation of Acute Services, including DTC, in Chelmsford Q3 2010 26 - - - - 
			 Salford Royal Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust New build and refurbishment at Hope Hospital Salford Q1 2011 53 - - - - 
			 Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust Modernisation and reconfiguration from four sites to two at Pembury and Maidstone Q4 2010 82 - - - - 
			 Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Reconfiguration of Acute Hospital services Q1 2012 71 71 - - - 
			 Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust Rationalisation from two main sites to one at Pinderfields Hospital. Small Unit at Pontefract Q2 2010 29 - - - - 
			 University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust Major new build and reconfiguration at University Hospital site Q4 2012 67 68 51 - - 
			 Barts and the London NHS Trust Acute site rationalisation Q4 2013 130 130 130 97 - 
			 North Bristol NHS Trust Relocation of acute services onto single site at Southmead Q1 2014 105 105 105 105 - 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2:  Public capital funded hospital build schemes 
			  Trust  Description  Estimated completion date  Estimated capital cost (£  million) 
			 Barking and Dagenham PCT Maternity, Urgent Treatment Centre, Sexual Health, General Practice and Outpatients Q2 2010 10 
			 Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust Making it Better (Making it Better) Maternity and Paediatrics Q3 2011 21 
			 Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust Moseley Hall Hospital (Mental Hall Development) Q4 2010 14 
			 Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Phase 6 Development-New Surgical Unit Q2 2010 34 
			 Christie Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Oak Road Development-New Patient Treatment Centre Q4 2010 19 
			 East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust Women's and Newborn's Unit BGH Q2 2010 25 
			 Eastern And Coastal Kent PCT King's Avenue Development-New Health Centre Q2 2011 14 
			 Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Women's Services Redevelopment Q4 2010 23 
			 Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust 'A' Wards Redevelopment and Associated Works Q1 2011 13 
			 Kettering General Hospital NHS Trust New Women and Children's Unit Q1 2011 16 
			 Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Clinical Services Reconfiguration project Q4 2010 24 
			 Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust Mental Health Refurbishment 2012 Vision Q4 2012 25 
			 Newham University Hospital NHS Trust Maternity and Newborn Development Q3 2011 18 
			 North East London NHS Foundation Trust Site Rationalisation Q1 2011 17 
			 Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust High Secure Learning Disability Unit for Men Q2 2010 35 
			 Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust Renal Transplant and Medicine Q1 2011 22 
			 Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust Women's and Children's development Q2 2010 29 
			 Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust Ambulatory Radiotherapy Centre Q2 2010 16 
			 Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust Low Secure Unit Q1 2011 11 
			 Portsmouth City Teaching PCT Portsmouth City Teaching, St. Mary's Campus Q4 2011 19 
			 Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust Modernisation of Rotherham Mental Health Services Q4 2011 17 
			 Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust Bracknell Spoke Q2 2010 12 
			 Somerset PCT Refurbishment and new build of Community Hospital-South Petherton Q1 2011 13 
			 Somerset PCT Re-provision of Minehead Community Hospital Q4 2010 16 
			 South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust Oncology Project Q2 2011 23 
			 Suffolk Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust Modernisation of Suffolk Mental Health Services Q4 2010 22 
			 The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Institute of Transplant Q2 2011 24 
			 University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust Wythenshawe Maternity Unit Q4 2011 12 
			 Worcestershire PCT Malvern Community Hospital Q4 2010 134

Learning Disability

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much of the £175 million fund to build new homes in the community for people with learning disabilities has been spent in each year since the fund was established;
	(2)  with reference to his Department's press release of 9 August 2007, Opening the door to a new life for people with learning disabilities, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people still resident on NHS campuses.

Phil Hope: The Government are making good progress towards its commitment to close by 2010 national health service residential accommodation (campuses) for people with learning disabilities.
	The NHS Information Centre undertake a twice yearly data collection of campus numbers in April and October and figures for April 2009 are currently being analysed. In August 2007, we estimated that there were around 2,100 people living in NHS campuses and by April 2009, there were around 1,000.
	The Department invited primary care trusts to bid for capital from the £175 million fund in three stages and expenditure has been as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 Stage 1-2007-08 5 
			 Stage 2-2008-09 43 
			 Stage 3-2009-10 52 
		
	
	Bids have also been made for 2010-11 and £15 million has been committed.
	A total of £115 million has been spent or committed.

Midwives: Manpower

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent midwives the NHS employed in each strategic health authority area in each year since 2005.

Ann Keen: The number of full-time equivalent midwives in each strategic health authority area in each year since 2005 is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  National  h ealth  s ervice hospital and community health services: Qualified midwives in England by strategic health authority area as at 30 September each specified year 
			  Full-time equivalent 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 England 18,949 18,862 19,298 19,639 
			  
			 North East strategic health authority area 1,011 1,003 1,025 1,063 
			 North West strategic health authority area 3,094 3,138 3,111 3,032 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber strategic health authority area 2,047 1,906 1,942 1,947 
			 East Midlands strategic health authority area 1,310 1,294 1,322 1,351 
			 West Midlands strategic health authority area 2,123 2,092 2,171 2,177 
			 East of England strategic health authority area 1,725 1,742 1,806 1,801 
			 London strategic health authority area 3,326 3,442 3,499 3,751 
			 South East Coast strategic health authority area 1,320 1,325 1,382 1,413 
			 South Central strategic health authority area 1,187 1,145 1,255 1,301 
			 South West strategic health authority area 1,806 1,774 1,786 1,803 
			  Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest whole number.  Source: The Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census.

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Disorder

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure proper and effective NHS treatment for those diagnosed with multiple chemical sensitivity.

Ann Keen: The provision of services for investigation and treatment of allergy is decided locally by the national health service depending on need. The Department expects general practitioners to exercise their clinical judgment to decide appropriate specialist referrals for investigation of particular symptoms which may be due to allergy.

NHS Direct

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many calls NHS Direct has received in each week since 7 May 2009; and how long on average it took for such calls to be answered in each such week.

Mike O'Brien: The information requested is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Week ending :  Calls received  Calls answered  Average answered delay (seconds) 
			 9 May 2009 55,125 49,606 30.52 
			 16 May 2009 128,474 120,351 18.44 
			 23 May 2009 119,386 111,942 23.14 
			 30 May 2009 117,332 108,687 26.33 
			 6 June 2009 107,345 97,438 33.73 
			 13 June 2009 109,738 99,925 29.26 
			 20 June 2009 105,460 92,304 53.85 
			 27 June 2009 115,408 93,399 94.45 
			 4 July 2009 163,429 98,735 284.83 
			 11 July 2009 186,058 92,106 473.43 
			 18 July 2009 201,766 84,342 463.79 
			 25 July 2009 176,382 88,423 436.67 
			 1 August 2009 127,184 99,923 126.74 
			 8 August 2009 113,442 95,481 83.27 
			 15 August 2009 112,576 99,184 58.60 
			 22 August 2009 104,152 94,073 45.22 
			 29 August 2009 103,014 95,561 31.56 
			 5 September 2009 109,577 99,218 41.39 
			 12 September 2009 99,494 89,836 40.25 
			 Total 2,355,342 1,810,534 - 
			  Note: It should be noted that this information only refers to calls made to 0845 46 47, and not any other services provided by NHS Direct.

NHS: Finance

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much  (a) was spent in (i) 2007-08 and (ii) 2008-09 and  (b) is planned to be spent in (A) 2009-10, (B) 2010-11 and (C) 2011-12 on the (1) recruitment processes, (2) better handling of complaints, (3) strengthening clinical governance, (4) information for monitoring, (5) boundary transgressions and special issues in mental health services, (6) revalidation of healthcare professionals, (7) the national clinical advisory group, (8) remediation and rehabilitation, (9) independent adjudication, (10) General Medical Council affiliates, (11) medical training and (12) language testing strand of the safeguarding patients and trust, assurance and safety policy.

Phil Hope: For 2007 to present, recruitment processes, strengthening clinical governance, information for monitoring, boundary transgressions and special issues in mental health services and remediation and rehabilitation spending are matters for local determination and the information is not held centrally.
	For better handling of complaints, the Department collects centrally the number of national health service complaints received, but does not collect data on the costs of handling those complaints.
	The last year for which data are available (2007-08), show 87,080 complaints in Hospital and Community Health Services and 45,942 in general practice (including dental).
	The approach to revalidation of Health Care professionals is still under development.
	The following are amounts spent on preparatory work:
	2007-08: £2,503,137
	2008-09: £4,284,582
	2009-10 (to end of august): £1,950,416.
	The National Clinical Audit Advisory Group is an advisory body that prioritises spending on national clinical audits. Audits are funded by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP), which was established in 2008.
	In 2008-09 HQIP received £6.3 million from the Department to support the management, development and promotion of clinical audit. The projected budget for this in 2009-10 is £7.0 million.
	In respect of Independent adjudication the following are amounts spent on preparatory work for establishing the Office of the Health Professions Adjudicator:
	2007-08: nil
	2008-09: £109,171
	2009-10 (to end of August): £114,271.
	For General Medical Council Affiliates, the only expenditure so far is the funding of two pilots in London and Yorkshire and Humberside:
	2007-08: £400,000
	2008-09: £100,000
	2009-10 (to end of August): £90,000.
	In respect of medical training, there have been no significant costs or expenditure for the Department or the NHS arising from the White Paper recommendations.
	For language, testing the policy position is still being clarified in light of European Union directives; therefore, there have been no costs or planned costs.
	On future spending, the planned spending for 2010-11 has not yet been agreed and will be considered as part of the standard departmental business planning exercise.
	As for 2011-2012, future years are subject to the next spending review, the timetable of which is not yet known.

NHS: Finance

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the percentage change in  (a) NHS real terms expenditure and  (b) finished consultant episodes has been since 1997.

Mike O'Brien: From 1997-98 to 2007-08 total real terms expenditure in the national health service increased by 90 per cent. (6 per cent. p.a.) and finished consultant episodes increased by 39 per cent. (3 per cent. p.a.).

NHS: Manpower

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) NHS doctors,  (b) NHS nurses,  (c) NHS dentists and  (d) GPs have been employed in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) the UK in each year since 2007.

Phil Hope: The number of national health service doctors, nurses, general practitioners (GPs) and dentists is given in the following table. The numbers quoted cover England only. Copies of the "NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2008-09" Report and Annex have been placed in the Library.
	
		
			  NHS staff in England, the North East Strategic Health Authority area and each specified organisation and by each specified staff group as at 30 September each specified year 
			  Headcount 
			   2007  2008 
			   All GPs( 1)  Hospital and community health care staff (HCHS) doctors and dentists( 2)  Qualified nursing staff( 3)  Number of dentists 2007-08  All GPs( 1)  (HCHS) doctors and dentists( 2)  Qualified nursing staff( 3)  Number of dentists 2008-09 
			 England 36,420 91,790 399,597 20,815 37,720 95,942 408,160 21,343 
			  
			  O f which 
			 North East Strategic Health Authority area 1,974 5,145 23,419 1,049 2,009 5,367 24,036 1,108 
			  
			  O f which 
			 Gateshead Health NHS Trust - 288 1,048 - - 309 1,095 - 
			 South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust - 163 550 - - 173 540 - 
			 South Tyneside Primary Care Trust 107 9 307 94 109 8 297 104 
			  Notes: (1) All GPs include GP providers, other GPs, GP registrars and GP retainers. (2 )Excludes hospital practitioners and clinical assistants in headcount, most of these also work as a GP. (3 )Includes all HCHS qualified nursing and midwifery staff and GP practice nurses.  Source:  The NHS Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census. All rights reserved. This work remains the sole and exclusive property of The Information Centre and may only be reproduced where there is explicit reference to the ownership of The Information Centre.

NHS: Pay

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which health authorities do not pay a salary to their board members.

Ann Keen: This information is not collected centrally.
	There are nationally agreed rates for the remuneration of board members of the 10 strategic health authorities. The authorities' boards are made up of non-executive board members, who receive remuneration at set rates agreed by the Department, and executive members who are paid under the Department's Pay Framework for Very Senior Managers.
	The Pay Framework for Very Senior Managers also applies to the executive board members of special health authorities, primary care trusts and ambulance trusts, issued by the Department. A copy has been placed in the Library.

NHS: Pensions

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to paragraph C.76, page 242 of Budget 2009, if he will place in the Library a copy of the actuarial advice he received on the NHS pension scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The net expenditure projections for the NHS Pension Scheme, used to build up the financial statement and the Budget report, reflect assumptions set by NHS Pensions after taking into account comments from their actuarial advisers, the Government Actuary's Department. The actuarial assumptions for the scheme can be found in the latest full actuarial valuation of the scheme which was published in December 2007. A copy of the valuation has been placed in the Library.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of  (a) the percentage of prescriptions dispensed which have incurred charges and  (b) the amount paid in prescription charges in each of the last 12 months.

Mike O'Brien: NHS Prescription Services (NHSPS) are responsible for the reimbursement and remuneration of dispensing contractors in England on behalf of the Department. The NHSPS captures information from prescription items submitted by dispensing contractors for reimbursement and remuneration purposes.
	The following table provides an estimate of prescription charges for items written in the United Kingdom and dispensed in the community in England, during the latest available 12 month period, August 2008 to July 2009.
	
		
			   Percentage of prescription items where prescription charges were paid at the point of dispensing( 1)  Total prescription charges paid (£000)( 2,3) 
			 August 2008 6.6 37,622 
			 September 2008 6.6 39,835 
			 October 2008 6.1 42,101 
			 November 2008 6.3 37,781 
			 December 2008 6.5 41,961 
			 January 2009 6.4 39,685 
			 February 2009 6.3 36,280 
			 March 2009 6.3 41,777 
			 April 2009 6.1 38,864 
			 May 2009 6.1 37,333 
			 June 2009 6.0 39,419 
			 July 2009 5.9 40,552 
			 Total 6.3 473,250 
			 (1) This excludes items dispensed against pre payment certificates (PPCs) as it is not possible to extract this information from other items dispensed where a patient is exempt from the prescription charge. (2) Total income from prescriptions dispensed with a charge at the point of dispensing and from PPC sales. Refunds against both of these sources of income have been subtracted from the reported total income. (3) The 'total prescription charges paid' is an estimate as prescription charge refunds included in the calculation of this total may relate to a previous month to that in which the prescription charge was paid. NHSPS payment information captured at the time of processing is not amended as a result of the refund process.  Source: PD1 report available on the NHS Prescriptions Services website at: www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/PrescriptionServices/947.aspx and NHS Help With Health Costs Pre-payment Certificate database.

Primary Care Trusts

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had on mergers of primary care trusts.

Mike O'Brien: There have been no recent discussions. Proposals for the reconfiguration of services are a matter for the national health service locally, working in conjunction with clinicians, patients and other stakeholders.

Social Services

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for a public consultation on the proposals in the Shaping the Future of Care Together Green Paper to use attendance allowance and other disability benefits to fund social care; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: We are currently consulting on all of the options considered within the Green Paper, in our Big Care Debate. The Green Paper consultation will run until 13 November this year. More information about the Big Care Debate is available on our dedicated website at:
	www.careandsupport.direct.gov.uk

Tuberculosis: Children

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many paediatric tuberculosis cases have been notified in England in the last five years.

Ann Keen: The data on the number of paediatric tuberculosis cases in England for 2003-2007 are provided in the following table:
	
		
			   Number of cases 
			 2003 376 
			 2004 445 
			 2005 493 
			 2006 422 
			 2007 534 
			  Note: Paediatric cases are defined as those aged under 16 years.  Source: Enhanced Tuberculosis Surveillance, Health Protection Agency

Viral Diseases: Drugs

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many antiviral collection points have been provided in each primary care trust area; and how many courses of antivirals have been distributed in each primary care trust area through such points to date;
	(2)  with reference to the Statement of 20 July 2009,  Official Report, columns 583-5, on swine flu, if he will place in the Library a copy of the list of all antiviral collection points in each primary care trust.

Gillian Merron: Data on the number of antiviral collection points (ACPs) in each primary care trust (PCT) were made available to all Members following the launch of the National Pandemic Flu Service on 23 July 2009. However, this list changes in response to local demand and the list as at 30 September 2009 has been placed in the Library.
	In each PCT area, or where demand from swine flu has been very modest across a number of PCTs, they have been asked to mobilise at least one ACP locally. More have been opened to respond to the level of demand from patients and the public for rapid access to antivirals.
	Cumulatively from 23 July to 29 September 2009 around 590,000 antivirals have been collected. The breakdown by PCT has been placed in the Library.

Wheelchairs

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 14 September 2009,  Official Report, column 2165W, on motor neurone disease: wheelchairs, when he expects the Care Services Efficiency Programme to report on a new model for the delivery of community equipment and wheelchair services.

Phil Hope: The Care Services Efficiency Delivery Programme report was sent to departmental officials in February 2008 and the new retail model for community equipment has been shared with local authorities and health organizations.
	We have provided assistance to Whizz-Kidz to support the development of a partnership between them and NHS London, in conjunction with primary care trusts and local authorities, to improve joint commissioning and the provision of wheelchairs for children and young adults across London. The resulting lessons and learning from the pan-London project are providing additional information to inform departmental discussions about future wheelchair services.

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Servants: Influenza

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether civil servants will have priority access to antiviral drugs in the event of an influenza pandemic.

Gillian Merron: I have been asked to reply.
	Civil servants have not been given priority access to antivirals during the swine flu outbreak. We have sufficient stocks of antivirals for anyone reporting symptoms to receive treatment following an assessment through the National Pandemic Flu Service, or general practitioner practices if they have underlying health conditions.

Death

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many deaths as a result of  (a) heat-related and  (b) cold-related factors there have been in England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated October 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many deaths as a result of  (a) heat-related and  (b) cold-related factors there have been in England and Wales in each of the last five years. (292446)
	There are no official definitions of 'heat-related' and 'cold-related' deaths. Estimates of the excess deaths resulting from a summer heat wave are calculated only when temperatures remain abnormally high over a sustained period. The most severe heat wave of recent times occurred in August 2003. During July 2006, there were also several days when heat wave threshold temperatures were reached in one or more regions. Table 1 provides the number of excess deaths during these hot periods.
	Estimates of excess winter deaths are calculated annually, and are based on the difference between the number of deaths during the four winter months (December to March) and the average number of deaths during the preceding four months (August to November) and the following four months (April to July). It is not possible to say whether these deaths were cold-related. Table 2 provides the number of excess winter deaths that occurred in England and Wales from 2003-04 to 2007-08 (the latest figures available).
	
		
			  Table 1: Excess mortality during periods when temperatures were above heat wave threshold in one or more regions, England and Wales,2003-07( 1,)( )( 2,)( )( 3,)( )( 4,)( )( 5) 
			   Number of excess deaths (persons)  Percentage increase in mortality above baseline (%) 
			 4 to 13 August 2003(1,)( )(2) 2,139 16 
			 1 to 7 July 2006(3,)( )(4) n/e 0 
			 16 to 28 July 2006(3,)( )(4) 680 4 
			 n/e = No excess (1) Final data based on deaths occurring each day in this period. (2) Excess mortality was calculated as observed daily deaths in 2003 minus the baseline (average 1998 to 2002) expected mortality over the same time period. (3) Estimated data based on deaths occurring each day in this period. (4) Excess mortality was calculated as observed daily deaths in 2006 minus baseline (average 2001 to 2005) expected mortality over the same time period. (5) Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2. Excess winter deaths, England and Wales, 2003-04 to 2007-08( 1,)( )( 2,)( )( 3,)( )( 4) 
			   Number 
			 2003-04 23,450 
			 2004-05 31,640 
			 2005-06 25,270 
			 2006-07 23,740 
			 2007-08 25,300 
			 (1) Estimates of excess winter deaths are based on the difference between the number of deaths during the four winter months (December to March) and the average number of deaths during the preceding four months (August to November) and the following four months (April to July). (2) Figures are based on deaths occurring in each month. (3) Figures for 2003-04 to 2006-07 are final, figures for 2007-08 are provisional. Final figures are rounded to the nearest 10, provisional figures are rounded to the nearest 100. (4) Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents.

Departmental Responsibilities

Simon Burns: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when she plans to publish a revised list of ministerial responsibilities; and what the reasons are for the time taken to prepare the revised list.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 12 October 2009
	The revised list of ministerial responsibilities, which provides a detailed breakdown of individual ministerial portfolios, will be published on 14 October 2009. Copies will be placed in the Libraries of the House and the Vote Office. In addition, hard copies will be sent to all MPs.

Minimum Wage

David Crausby: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many  (a) female and  (b) male employees in the Bolton North East constituency receive wages at the national minimum rate.

Angela Smith: This information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated September 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many (a) female and (b) male employees in the Bolton North East constituency receive wages at the national minimum rate. (291470)
	Estimates for the number of jobs paid at the national minimum wage are not available from the Office for National Statistics. Estimates for the number of employee jobs paid below the national wage are available, but only for all employee jobs by Government Office Region, which is the lowest geographical breakdown published by ONS. These estimates exclude the self employed. I attach a table showing the number of all employee jobs earning less than the national minimum wage for the North West Government Office Region.
	A guide to measuring low pay and associated articles can be found on the National Statistics website at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=5837
	
		
			  Estimates of employee jobs paid below the National Minimum Wage by North West Government Office Region in 2008 
			   2008 
			  Government Office Region  Thousand  Percentage 
			 North West (including Merseyside) *27 *1.0 
			  Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of a figure, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV-for example, for an average of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent., we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220  Key : CV<=5 per cent. * CV>5 per cent. and <=10 per cent. ** CV>10 per cent. and <=20 per cent.  Source:  Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), Office for National Statistics. 2008

Suicide

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many deaths where suicide was the underlying cause of death there were in each 
	(1)  county of England and Wales in each quarter in  (a) 2006,  (b) 2007,  (c) 2008 and  (d) 2009 to date;
	(2)  10 year age cohort in England and Wales in each quarter in  (a) 2006,  (b) 2007,  (c) 2008 and  (d) 2009 to date.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated October 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent questions asking
	1) how many deaths where suicide was the underlying cause of death there were in each quarter in (a) 2006, (b) 2007, (c) 2008 and (d) 2009 to date, in each county in England and Wales. (292322)
	2) how many deaths where suicide was the underlying cause of death there were in each 10 year age cohort in each quarter in (a) 2006, (b) 2007, (c) 2008 and (d) 2009 to date in England and Wales. (292323)
	Table 1 attached provides the number of deaths occurring in each calendar quarter in 2006 and 2007, where suicide was the underlying cause of death, for each county in England. Unitary authorities in England are not included in areas covered by counties, and there are no counties in Wales. Total figures for the 56 unitary authorities within England and the 22 unitary authorities in Wales are included at the end of Table 1.
	Table 2 attached provides the number of deaths occurring in each calendar quarter in 2006 and 2007, where suicide was the underlying cause of death, by 10-year age groups, in England and Wales.
	Death occurrence figures for 2008 and 2009 are not yet available in this form.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of deaths occurring in each calendar quarter, where suicide was the underlying cause of death, counties in England, 2006-07( 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) 
			  Deaths (persons) 
			   2006  2007 
			   Jan-Mar  Apr-Jun  Jul-Sept  Oct-Dec  Jan-Mar  Apr-Jun  Jul-Sept  Oct-Dec 
			 Area 
			 England 1,034 1,004 992 898 973 1,082 897 739 
			  
			  North East 
			 Tyne and Wear (Met County) 27 18 25 17 23 20 22 14 
			  
			  North West 
			 Cumbria 13 15 12 19 12 7 10 5 
			 Greater Manchester (Met County) 54 66 64 45 52 59 59 45 
			 Lancashire 21 19 20 24 31 30 28 21 
			 Merseyside (Met County) 30 34 32 23 21 31 29 23 
			  
			  Yorkshire and The Humber 
			 North Yorkshire 13 13 9 9 9 14 7 16 
			 South Yorkshire (Met County) 26 33 28 22 38 29 21 21 
			 West Yorkshire (Met County) 46 37 33 36 42 38 53 37 
			  
			  East Midlands 
			 Derbyshire 11 11 12 11 14 13 7 11 
			 Leicestershire 14 12 7 13 8 4 7 4 
			 Lincolnshire 21 16 14 20 15 18 9 19 
			 Northamptonshire 15 12 19 7 11 16 11 5 
			 Nottinghamshire 20 14 17 19 14 10 9 20 
			  
			  West Midlands 
			 Staffordshire 11 7 15 10 16 23 15 15 
			 Warwickshire 7 6 12 4 10 10 12 2 
			 West Midlands (Met County) 53 48 46 34 44 56 43 25 
			 Worcestershire 12 12 8 12 8 10 10 11 
			  
			  East of England 
			 Cambridgeshire 10 12 11 10 14 13 15 14 
			 Essex 20 25 19 15 28 29 23 11 
			 Hertfordshire 11 18 11 16 15 15 20 11 
			 Norfolk 19 11 16 11 16 13 10 24 
			 Suffolk 13 14 15 12 18 19 21 11 
			  
			  London 
			 Greater London 149 156 130 112 115 162 120 95 
			  
			  South East 
			  
			 Buckinghamshire 4 7 8 8 4 12 8 3 
			 East Sussex 14 14 10 9 11 11 8 8 
			 Hampshire 21 10 23 21 21 30 16 16 
			 Kent 33 24 36 24 34 36 19 15 
			 Oxfordshire 12 13 11 12 14 6 13 8 
			 Surrey 19 27 18 11 18 19 15 15 
			 West Sussex 9 19 14 21 18 1 11 18 
			  
			  South West 
			 Devon 11 15 23 18 15 11 11 6 
			 Dorset 12 6 8 6 5 9 10 11 
			 Gloucestershire 20 9 10 12 16 8 7 5 
			 Somerset 15 12 8 10 10 8 6 7 
			  
			 Unitary Authorities 248 239 248 245 233 286 212 167 
			  
			 Wales 73 59 69 67 67 64 70 53 
			 (1 )Suicide was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-I0) codes X60-X84 and YI0-Y34, excluding Y33.9 (where the Coroner's verdict was pending). (2 )Suicide and undetermined intent deaths have not been included for children under the age of 15 years. (3 )Over the period 2006-07, three suicides did not have a 'month of death' recorded at death registration, and were therefore not included. (4 )Based on boundaries as of 1 April 2009, following local government reorganisation. (5 )Unitary authorities in England are not included in areas covered by counties. Therefore, not all areas within England are included in a county, and there are no counties in Wales. (6 )Figures are for deaths occurring in each calendar quarter. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of deaths occurring in each calendar quarter where suicide was the underlying cause of death, by age group, England and Wales, 2006-07( 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) 
			  Deaths (persons) 
			   2006  2007 
			  Age group  Jan-Mar  Apr-Jun  Jul-Sep  Oct-Dec  Jan-Mar  Apr-Jun  Jul-Sep  Oct-Dec 
			 15-24 92 94 80 107 107 90 85 61 
			 25-34 160 161 188 167 176 189 178 129 
			 35-44 273 242 270 234 242 273 233 187 
			 45-54 226 214 218 169 206 242 204 157 
			 55-64 182 169 154 134 156 185 120 139 
			 65-74 92 98 77 74 72 81 66 63 
			 75-84 59 65 58 62 65 58 61 51 
			 85+ 28 28 24 22 24 34 24 13 
			 (1 )Suicide was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes X60-X84 and YI0-Y34, excluding Y33.9 (where the Coroner's verdict was pending). (2 )Suicide and undetermined intent deaths have not been included for children under the age of 15 years. (3 )Over the period 2006-07, three suicides did not have a 'month of death' recorded at death registration, and were therefore not included. (4 )Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents. (5 )Figures are for deaths occurring in each calendar quarter.

Suicide

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many deaths where suicide was the underlying cause of death there were in England and Wales in each quarter in  (a) 2006,  (b) 2007,  (c) 2008 and  (d) 2009 by profession.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated October 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many deaths where suicide was the underlying cause of death there were in each quarter in (a) 2006, (b) 2007, (c) 2008 and (d) 2009 by profession in England and Wales. (292324)
	The table attached provides the number of deaths where suicide was the underlying cause of death, for each calendar quarter in 2006 and 2007, by occupational group. Due to the small numbers of suicides in individual occupations, figures are given for occupational groups, which are defined in the Standard Occupational Classification 2000(1). These figures do not include suicides at ages 75 and over (346 in 2006 and 328 in 2007) as occupational information is not available from death registrations for this age group, or suicides for which occupation was not recorded for other reasons (984 in 2006 and 941 in 2007).
	Figures for 2008 and 2009 are not yet available in this form.
	(1) Office for National Statistics (2000) Standard Occupational Classification 2000 Volume I. Structure and description of unit groups. The Stationery Office: London Available online at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/about-statistics/classifications/current/SOC2000/index.html
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of deaths where suicide was the underlying cause of death by occupational group by quarter, England and Wales 2006-07( 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) 
			  Deaths (persons) 
			   2006  2007 
			   Jan-Mar  Apr-Jun  Jul-Sep  Oct-Dec  Jan-Mar  Apr-Jun  Jul-Sep  Oct-Dec 
			  Occupational g roups 
			 Corporate managers 29 31 41 29 25 32 37 15 
			 Managers and proprietors in agriculture and services 42 33 33 35 33 29 21 24 
			 Science and technology professionals 14 21 20 13 21 17 11 21 
			 Health professionals 12 12 7 4 5 4 7 4 
			 Teaching and research professionals 16 26 19 17 22 22 23 12 
			 Business and public service professionals 6 15 16 17 11 14 12 11 
			 Science and technology associate professionals 21 10 13 6 10 6 8 18 
			 Health and social welfare associate professionals 19 19 19 20 17 24 9 13 
			 Protective service occupations 17 8 11 12 15 12 9 8 
			 Culture, media and sports occupations 17 23 19 20 16 15 15 13 
			 Business and public service associate professionals 20 26 22 17 22 29 18 17 
			 Administrative occupations 36 35 46 40 41 44 29 36 
			 Secretarial and related occupations 12 9 10 17 18 18 13 13 
			 Skilled agricultural trades 22 21 19 18 24 23 21 12 
			 Skilled metal and electrical trades 69 36 41 51 57 48 57 37 
			 Skilled construction and building trades 85 69 69 66 84 94 82 55 
			 Textiles, printing and other skilled trades 21 27 20 19 21 25 19 21 
			 Caring personal service occupations 26 27 35 28 20 31 20 19 
			 Leisure and other personal service occupations 14 19 15 12 16 13 14 6 
			 Sales and customer services occupations 36 31 24 21 30 43 24 23 
			 Process, plant and machine operatives 49 35 46 45 43 49 43 31 
			 Transport and mobile machine drivers and operatives 62 54 55 54 48 55 46 45 
			 Elementary trades, plant and storage related occupations 71 70 76 71 54 72 78 53 
			 Elementary administration and service occupations 53 64 55 38 45 68 61 33 
			 (1) Suicide was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes X60-X84 and Y10-Y34, excluding Y33.9 (where the Coroner's verdict was pending). (2) Suicide and undetermined intent deaths have not been included for children under the age of 15 years. (3) Over the period 2006-07, three suicides did not have a 'month of death' recorded at death registration, and were therefore not included. (4) The sub-major groupings of the Standard Occupation Classification 2000 have been used in this analysis. Sales Occupations and Customer Services Occupations have been amalgamated to avoid disclosure due to small numbers. (5) Occupation is not coded at death for individuals over the age of 74, thus suicides for individuals over the age of 74 are not included. (6) Figures are for deaths occurring in each calendar quarter.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Broadband

Hugo Swire: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what monitoring his Department is undertaking of the pace of delivery of the broadband universal service commitment.

Stephen Timms: The delivery of the universal service commitment (USC) will be carried out by the Network Design and Procurement Company. We hope to appoint the chief executive of this company in the autumn, who will then work to begin delivery as soon as possible. Once established, the Government will ensure appropriate monitoring of delivery, primarily through a steering board which the company will report to.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills which rural areas of the UK have exchanges that are not broadband-enabled.

Stephen Timms: All of BT's exchanges are broadband enabled (DSL). Recent research published by the independent regulator Ofcom (Communications Market Report, August 2009) shows that 99.92 per cent. of households in rural UK are linked to a broadband enabled exchange. However, some households will be unable to receive broadband for various network reasons, for example the distance of the household from the exchange.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Hugo Swire: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what monitoring his Department carries out of bandwidth speeds available in rural areas.

Stephen Timms: The Department does not currently carry out any monitoring of bandwidth speeds available in rural areas. However, the independent telecommunications regulator, Ofcom, have published the broadband speed Code of Practice which all major internet service providers have signed up to, and have also recently published research on broadband speeds. The Code of Practice can be found at
	http://www.ofcom.org.uk/media/features/bbcode.
	The broadband speed research can be found at
	http://www.ofcom.org.uk/media/features/broadbandspeedsjy.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Hugo Swire: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what barriers he has identified in the delivery of the broadband Universal Service Commitment to rural areas.

Stephen Timms: The proposed arms-length body, the Network and Design and Procurement Company, will be responsible for identifying any barriers to the delivery of the universal service commitment across the UK, on behalf of Government. We hope to appoint a chief executive of this body in the autumn, and work will begin on the analysis later in the year.

Business Link

Lorely Burt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how long it took on average for Business Link to carry out a health check from the original business enquiry in the latest period for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 16 September 2009
	 The figures refer to the lead time (the time lapse between original inquiry and the health check) for businesses requesting a health check on 26 August. Typically, across all regions an initial telephone conversation will result in those identified as being urgent cases being offered an early meeting with an adviser.
	These data indicate that urgent cases are likely to be visited within a week with less urgent cases taking anything up to 17 calendar days on average, albeit this is dependent on the level of demand and client availability. The average lead time is likely to be less than 10 days across the RDA network.
	
		
			  RDA  Average length of time it takes Business Link to carry out a health check from the original business inquiry (as at 26 August 2009) 
			 AWM The health checks are categorised at different levels of Intensive Assistance as follows; 
			  Level 2-The average number of calendar days to deliver a level 2 Intensive Assist (which is the referral for a Business Account Manager) is 8.6 days since 1 April 2009. 
			  Level 3-The average number of calendar days to deliver a Level 3 Intensive Assist (which is the referral for an Adviser) is 16.5 days. 
			  Note: Some of the time lags are dependent upon client availability as much as adviser availability. 
			   
			 EEDA 24 hours for call back. 
			  Up to five working days for a visit but will respond sooner if urgent. 
			   
			 EMDA Adviser appointment lead times remain at an average of eight calendar days. Urgent cases are prioritised. 
			   
			 LDA Adviser appointment lead time continues at 10 working days, with a triage process involving telephone diagnostics and local adviser surgeries for more urgent needs. 
			   
			 NWDA There is a significant variance in this depending on the availability of the customer to meet and the complexity of the Action Plan subsequently developed. We provide contact between same day and up to two working days on average. The Health Check activity meeting may then be scheduled from within 48 hours or up to two weeks ahead. 
			   
			 ONE Lead times (mean average for stated time period): 7 August 2009 to 26 August 2009-7.6 calendar days 
			   
			 SEEDA Across the region's six Business Link Providers, the average adviser lead-time is seven working days, with urgent requests met in one-two working days whenever possible. 
			   
			 SWRDA For urgent cases, a fast track route is available to speak to an adviser directly on the same day and have an appointment within one week maximum. Average lead-times vary from 7.5 calendar days in the north and east zones of the region to 17 calendar days in the southern zone. 
			   
			 YF Initial pre-filtering takes place at the time that the inquiry is taken. Urgent requests are dealt with within 24 hours and a health check can often be done within two-three working days of the initial inquiry being made. A typical enquiry will normally be responded to within 48 hours and an appointment made that will be at the customer's earliest convenience. This would normally be within a week to 10 working days.

Business: Government Assistance

Mark Hoban: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 3 July 2009,  Official Report, column 430W, on business: Government assistance, which banks are participating in the Working Capital Scheme; how many businesses had received additional funds from each such bank on the latest date for which figures are available; and what the monetary value was of the additional capital which had been made available under the scheme on that date.

Rosie Winterton: 50 per cent. guarantees have been agreed on loan portfolios from Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS), National Westminster Bank plc (NatWest), and Lloyds TSB Bank plc and Lloyds TSB Scotland plc (Lloyds Banking Group) in respect of portfolios of loans that will enable RBS, NatWest and Lloyds Banking Group to make additional lending to UK companies.
	Information on the number of businesses receiving new loans is not available. £2 billion of guarantees have been provided to banks under the Working Capital Scheme to free up regulatory capital for new lending to UK companies.
	As a result of action by the Government and the regulatory authorities leading to improvements in capital markets since the introduction of the WCS, the Government have been able to allocate resource provision for the WCS to other measures to support businesses.

Business: Insurance

George Osborne: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many policies have been written under the Trade Credit Insurance scheme; and what the monetary value is of the cover provided.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 16 September 2009
	As of 4 September this Government 'top-up' scheme has written 64 policies to a value of £10,435,865 in cases where commercial credit insurers have reduced cover. This reflects the targeted nature of the scheme which was designed to provide breathing space for those firms who have suffered a reduction in their credit insurance as a result of the current economic climate. It is part of the Real Help Now package of measures, and has provided targeted, temporary assistance to give companies that require time to talk to their banks and buyers, and then adjust their business models to respond to the current climate, the time to do so. Many businesses have successfully found ways to reduce their need for trade credit insurance, including developing closer relationships with their buyers, which is one of the policy objectives of the scheme.

Business: Public Sector

Margaret Moran: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the supply2.gov.uk portal in increasing the number of bids by small and medium-sized enterprises for public sector contracts.

Rosie Winterton: Supply2.gov.uk seeks to increase access to lower value public sector contracts by publishing them in a single location. As an advertising portal, it does not collect data on the number of bids made by SMEs.
	A 2007 user survey indicated that 34 per cent. of registrants had bid for a contract on the site. Since then, the number of registered suppliers has risen from around 50,000 to over 163,000, and the number of low-value contracts from below 16,000 to over 47,000. Around 300 new low-value contracts are published on the site every week. As part of the implementation of the Glover recommendations, central Government spend with SMEs will be monitored from this financial year onwards.

Departmental Information Officers

Paul Holmes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the cost to his Department of employing (a) press officers and (b) other press office staff has been in each year since 1997.

Patrick McFadden: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills was created on 5 June. Figures are not available for BIS but are available for the former Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) and the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI).
	The total staffing costs for Press Office staff for the former BERR, DIUS and DTI are:
	
		
			   £ 
			  2008-09  
			 BERR 1,080,000 
			 DIUS 766,000 
			   
			  2007/08  
			 DTI/BERR 1,261,000 
			   
			  2006/07  
			 DTI 1,023,000 
			   
			  2005/06  
			 DTI 992,000 
			   
			  2004/05  
			 DTI 871,000 
		
	
	Figures for earlier years for the DTI and a breakdown of costs for press officers and non-press officers could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

Departmental Manpower

John Mann: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many staff there were in  (a) his Department's predecessor in 1997 and  (b) his Department on the latest date for which figures are available.

Patrick McFadden: The number of staff in the Department's predecessor (Department of Trade and Industry) in 1997 is shown within the Civil Service Statistics 1997 link 'Civil Service Statistics 1997' and forms part of the Civil Service statistics archive
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/who/statistics/archived-reports.aspx
	The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) ceased to exist on 5 June when the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) was created from the merger of BERR and the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS).
	There are a total of 3,618 staff within BIS as at 30 September.

Departmental Reorganisation

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the cost of  (a) designing and  (b) purchasing branded stationery for the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was during its existence; how much such stationery remains unused; and what plans he has for that stationery.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 15 June 2009
	 For part  (a) I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Member for Tottenham (Mr. Lammy), the then Minister of State for Higher Education and Intellectual Property at the then Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills on 27 February 2008,  Official Report, columns 1645-46W.
	For part  (b) I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Erdington (Mr. Simon), the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Further Education at the then Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills on 1 June 2009,  Official Report, column 213W.
	Branded stationery is ordered on demand by individual business units. Records are not held on how much was unused at the point of the creation of the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS). However all stocks of stationery which featured the DIUS branding were recycled when BIS was created.

Departmental Secondment

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of staff in his Department have worked on attachment to institutions of the European Union.

Patrick McFadden: Secondments to the EU Institutions are a valuable means of building relationships and influencing policy. In recent years, at any given time there have been approximately 12 BIS staff working in the Institutions as Seconded National Experts. In addition, we usually support the participation of at least two members of staff per year in the European Commission's National Experts in Training Programme, which entails six month attachments. An investigation to determine the proportion of staff who have ever worked on attachment to the Institutions would incur disproportionate cost.

Departmental Sick Leave

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many members of his Department have been on sick leave for over six months.

Patrick McFadden: The Department does not routinely calculate the number of staff who have been on sick leave for over six months. However, in common with other Whitehall departments we do regularly report our sickness absence. The latest performance report is available at this link:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/sicknessabsence

Departmental Sick Leave

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many working days in the last month were lost owing to sick leave taken by staff of his Department.

Patrick McFadden: The Department does not routinely calculate the number of working days lost owing to sick leave taken by staff in the last month. However, in common with other Whitehall departments we do regularly report our sickness absence. The latest performance report is available at this link:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/sicknessabsence

Departmental Sick Leave

Justine Greening: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the cost to the public purse of sickness absences in his Department and its predecessors was in each of the last five years.

Patrick McFadden: The Department does not routinely calculate the cost to the public purse of sickness absences. The Cabinet Office has published previous annual sickness absence reports for the Civil Service (from 2003 to 2007). These can be viewed via sickness absence reports. The latest of these reports was published for the year up to April 2007.
	However in common with other Whitehall departments we do regularly report our sickness absence. The latest performance report is available at this link.
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/sicknessabsence

Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what percentage of funds available under the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme has  (a) been lent to businesses,  (b) is in the process of being lent to businesses and  (c) remains available for future lending.

Rosie Winterton: The Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) is a £l billion loan guarantee scheme delivered through the banks that will enable an additional £1.3 billion of lending to businesses up to end March 2010.
	As of 16 September, 5,241 loans have been offered to customers with a total value of £535 million. Of these, 4,132 have been drawn down with a total value of £405 million.

Learning Grid

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect of Learning Grid programmes on the teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects in schools; what funding his Department has provided for the Learning Grid in each year since it was founded; and what plans the Government has for the future of the Learning Grid.

Patrick McFadden: The evaluation report commissioned by the East Midlands Regional Development Agency, received by Government in August, does not directly address the immediate impact of the Learning Grid on the teaching programmes in schools.
	The as yet unpublished report concludes that the full extent of programme impacts cannot be accurately gauged until 10-15 years into the future given that one of the key objectives of the programme is to increase the size of the skilled recruitment pool entering into high performance engineering employment.
	Set up in 2005 the Learning Grid has received a total of £4 million from BIS and supporting RDAs up to July 2009. Currently there are no further plans to provide additional financial support to the Learning Grid.

Members: Correspondence

Greg Pope: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills when the Minister for Economic Competitiveness, Small Business and Enterprise will reply to the hon. Member for Hyndburn's letter to her of 6 January 2009.

Rosie Winterton: My noble Friend, the Minister for Economic Competitiveness, Small Business and Enterprise, responded on 28 July 2009.

Met Office: Reviews

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has met representatives of the Met Office to discuss the recommendations of the Operational Efficiency programme review that the Met Office should introduce private capital in some areas; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The OEP review process is conducted through extensive consultations and dialogue between the Met Office, Ministry of Defence and the Shareholder Executive on all issues connected with the review, including the potential introduction of private capital. The introduction of private capital was identified as only one of the available options which could help enhance the commercial opportunities available to the Met Office. Ministers are kept informed on the progress on all options.

Met Office: Reviews

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills when he expects the Shareholder Executive's review of the Met Office to be concluded; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: There will be a general update around PBR on the progress of the OEP and its individual assets, including the Met Office.

Ministers: Training

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills which training courses were attended by Ministers in his Department or its predecessor in the last 12 months.

Patrick McFadden: A number of Ministers in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and its predecessor departments have received training to assist them in the discharge of their various ministerial responsibilities.

New College Nottingham: Basford Hall

Graham Allen: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment the Learning and Skills Council has made of the application from New College Nottingham for approval in principle for a new campus at Basford Hall.

Kevin Brennan: New College Nottingham submitted their application for an in principal project proposal to the Learning and Skills Council for the development of their existing campus at Basford Hall in November last year.
	The Basford Hall project application was reviewed with all other capital projects as part the prioritisation exercise carried out by the LSC based upon rigorous and fair prioritisation criteria agreed with the sector and that built upon Sir Andrew Foster's recommendations. Unfortunately, the Basford Hall project application was not successful in securing funding this spending period.

Police National Computer

Mark Prisk: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what access his Department has to information stored on the Police National Computer.

Patrick McFadden: The Department has two, separate, requirements for information held on the Police National Computer (PNC):
	 (i) Company Law and Insolvency investigations and enforcement:
	The Department carries out PNC checks for possible suspects, defendants and witnesses in relation to cases it prosecutes. These cases tend to arise from individual and corporate insolvency proceedings and associated fraud together with a range of other matters arising from the Department's regulatory functions such as Employment Regulation offences.
	 (ii) Security checks for people who work within BIS:
	PNC checks are only carried out on those requiring CTC, (counter terrorist check), SC (security clearance) or DV (developed vetting) clearance. The PNC checks cover spent and unspent criminal convictions.

Royal Bank of Scotland

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions his Department has had with  (a) UK Financial Investments and  (b) the management of the Royal Bank of Scotland on its marketing (i) strategy and (ii) agency arrangements; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 30 March 2009
	 UKFI manages the Government's investments in financial institutions on a commercial basis at arm's length from Government.

Royal Mail

Lorely Burt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what expenditure his Department has incurred on external advisory fees in relation to the proposed part-privatisation of the Royal Mail to date.

Patrick McFadden: The estimated expenditure incurred to end September 2009 on legal, accountancy and financial advice to take forward the implementation of the Hooper Review's recommendations (which included work on securing a partner for Royal Mail) was £4.6 million.

Shareholder Executive

Mark Prisk: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what role the Shareholder Executive has in  (a) delivering and  (b) administering (i) the Working Capital scheme, (ii) the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme, (iii) the Capital for Enterprise Fund and (iv) the Automotive Assistance programme; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Shareholder Executive has no role in delivering or administering schemes (i), (ii) and (iii). However, the Executive did advise on some organisational and resourcing aspects of delivering the Automotive Assistance programme and continues to give ad hoc advice on individual applications made under that scheme.
	It also advised on the design and implementation of the Capital for Enterprise Fund.

Union Modernisation Fund: Publications

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 21 July 2009,  Official Report, column 1756W, on the Union Modernisation Fund, if he will place in the Library a copy of the reports certifying claims and expenditure from the Union Modernisation Fund in respect of each additional company listed in the Answer.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 12 October 2009
	I am unable to place in the Library any copies of the certifying claims and expenditure from the Union Modernisation Fund in relation to the accountancy companies listed in my previous answer because the reports are prepared for the confidential use of the unions and BIS, and solely for the purpose of verifying the grant claimed.
	This condition is set out in the standard terms of engagement agreed between the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales used for all the Department's grant-aided projects.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Antisocial Behaviour

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2009,  Official Report, column 1484-86W, on crime: statistics, how many antisocial behaviour incidents were recorded in 2008-09;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 29 June 2009,  Official Report, column 74W, on public order offences, what data on antisocial behaviour will be collected as defined by the simplified National Incident Category List from 2009;
	(3)  pursuant to the answer of 29 June 2009,  Official Report, column 74W, on public order offences, if he will provide a breakdown of figures for incidents recorded in 2008-09.

Alan Johnson: The total number of incidents of antisocial behaviour recorded by the 43 police forces in England and Wales as defined within the National Incident Category List (NICL) for 2008-09 was 3,661,498. A detailed breakdown is given in the following tables.
	The data are normally used for management information only and are not subject to the detailed checks that apply for National Statistics publications. The data are therefore provisional and may be subject to change.
	A decision as to the data on antisocial behaviour incidents as defined by the NICL that will be collected centrally for 2009-10 will be made later this year. As part of the Home Office's work to reduce the data burden on police forces, this data return has been reviewed and the monthly collection discontinued. A single annual return will be implemented, the extent and scope of which has yet to be finalised.
	
		
			  2008-09 
			   Antisocial behaviour 
			   Abandoned vehicles (not stolen or causing an obstruction)  Animal problems  Begging  /vagrancy  Hoax calls to emergency services  Inappropriate use/sale/  possession of fireworks  Malicious communications  Noise  Prostitution related activity 
			 F01 Avon and Somerset 1,558 2,773 724 4,996 632 2,993 1,578 164 
			 F02 Bedfordshire 2,264 408 249 881 212 1,694 247 177 
			 F03 Cambridgeshire 2,985 44 318 708 142 3,079 1,712 164 
			 F04 Cheshire 1,446 1,158 314 801 364 3,980 323 10 
			 F05 City of London 23 21 362 7 0 33 128 3 
			 F06 Cleveland 1,752 1,601 155 2,416 404 4,231 76 107 
			 F07 Cumbria 381 571 68 922 196 1,801 473 11 
			 F08 Derbyshire 3,412 853 168 1,577 279 2,624 1,288 41 
			 F09 Devon and Cornwall 2,463 2,234 847 3,627 352 7,011 545 18 
			 F10 Dorset 2,801 529 1,138 606 264 2,730 1,166 132 
			 F11 Durham 157 1,439 68 4,447 218 4,082 2,428 1 
			 F12 Dyfed Powys 751 1,478 134 1,072 151 2,609 1,516 3 
			 F13 Essex 3,093 2,694 168 2,993 880 3,258 1,644 136 
			 F14 Gloucestershire 1,006 796 174 2,301 188 2,558 1,098 20 
			 F15 Greater Manchester 15,208 815 1,517 10,140 1,643 12,143 809 172 
			 F16 Gwent 1,104 1,331 100 1,601 301 5,348 598 22 
			 F17 Hampshire 4,204 1,315 1,116 2,561 625 8,004 3,008 91 
			 F18 Hertfordshire 5,789 793 288 4,346 430 3,843 3,064 14 
			 F19 Humberside 1,855 836 241 1,373 436 4,080 475 63 
			 F20 Kent 1,068 901 537 2,460 591 6,592 2,022 44 
			 F21 Lancashire 4,827 3,460 852 6,023 1,241 9,070 3,830 174 
			 F22 Leicestershire 3,058 805 269 3,970 314 1,458 661 175 
			 F23 Lincolnshire 999 412 179 917 291 3,187 975 6 
			 F24 Merseyside 2,248 1,867 643 3,160 883 4,183 1,794 111 
			 F25 Metropolitan Police 13,519 13,852 8,231 1,138 4,647 18,518 10,650 1,638 
			 F26 Norfolk 2,904 1,723 393 2,336 205 4,913 1,671 229 
			 F27 Northamptonshire 2,171 600 141 1,616 270 3,832 641 16 
			 F28 Northumbria 1,638 2,044 563 3,935 630 9,104 657 27 
			 F29 North Wales 1,413 0 90 1,913 121 1,396 2,148 1 
			 F30 North Yorkshire 1,627 911 386 737 277 4,569 368 11 
			 F31 Nottinghamshire 3,748 1,471 235 11,106 604 3,545 1,520 69 
			 F32 South Wales 5,162 1,270 625 1,757 227 4,674 279 556 
			 F33 South Yorkshire 3,782 3,980 323 2,415 586 6,510 2,976 191 
			 F34 Staffordshire 809 414 119 220 315 1,781 1,362 109 
			 F35 Suffolk 1,839 989 131 1,766 51 4,383 526 97 
			 F36 Surrey 3,537 1,331 234 5,094 326 2,172 1,214 23 
			 F37 Sussex 4,206 2,206 152 6,703 249 4,410 745 13 
			 F38 Thames Valley 5,620 1,239 617 2,748 386 2,495 4,038 190 
			 F39 Warwickshire 1,845 192 38 566 88 2,692 530 6 
			 F40 West Mercia 1,115 1,690 193 1,952 289 6,244 1,698 3 
			 F41 West Midlands 3,261 1,873 1,878 18,516 1,308 8,310 4,669 658 
			 F42 West Yorkshire 5,086 2,461 552 5,977 852 8,107 1,442 95 
			 F43 Wiltshire 471 360 50 1,091 88 1,152 190 4 
			 Total for Forces 128,205 67,740 25,580 135,491 22,556 199,398 68,782 5,795 
		
	
	
		
			   Rowdy/  nuisance- environmental damage/  littering  Rowdy/  nuisance-neighbours  Rowdy/  nuisance-rowdy or inconsiderate behaviour  Street drinking  Solvent misuse  Trespass  Vehicle nuisance/  inappropriate vehicle use  Total 
			 F01 Avon and Somerset 2,475 5,823 67,776 610 28 393 8,911 - 
			 F02 Bedfordshire 252 3,203 25,348 341 11 290 5,711 - 
			 F03 Cambridgeshire 150 4,721 34,727 390 2 71 4,703 - 
			 F04 Cheshire 239 4,749 37,845 117 5 193 9,147 - 
			 F05 City of London 7 17 1,283 70 0 13 87 - 
			 F06 Cleveland 236 4,061 41,114 840 54 139 7,520 - 
			 F07 Cumbria 455 3,872 29,076 439 9 409 2,052 - 
			 F08 Derbyshire 462 5,623 50,242 640 17 89 7,498 - 
			 F09 Devon and Cornwall 334 9,142 70,281 1,215 17 604 8,915 - 
			 F10 Dorset 379 3,679 28,931 210 35 343 4,904 - 
			 F11 Durham 133 2,819 36,563 1,773 19 298 9,545 - 
			 F12 Dyfed Powys 368 4,417 17,056 579 13 355 5,325 - 
			 F13 Essex 382 5,475 53,360 173 4 500 7,876 - 
			 F14 Gloucestershire 240 2,503 20,184 232 19 181 2,860 - 
			 F15 Greater Manchester 726 19,290 146,431 3,477 15 523 24,671 - 
			 F16 Gwent 500 5,025 41,671 1,229 36 583 6,332 65,781 
			 F17 Hampshire 872 10,132 83,654 1,723 243 1,101 13,702 132,351 
			 F18 Hertfordshire 636 5,175 44,458 475 4 126 8,924 78,365 
			 F19 Humberside 267 4,648 30,634 933 21 345 4,918 51,125 
			 F20 Kent 638 9,003 37,172 452 7 475 14,548 76,510 
			 F21 Lancashire 1,184 10,393 101,237 2,704 173 1,319 10,660 157,147 
			 F22 Leicestershire 409 3,026 33,962 252 47 175 5,481 54,062 
			 F23 Lincolnshire 237 1,809 25,919 326 7 203 4,170 39,637 
			 F24 Merseyside 478 8,924 58,037 1,249 46 178 7,995 91,796 
			 F25 Metropolitan Police 793 22,298 193,852 20,431 38,541 3,567 12,035 363,710 
			 F26 Norfolk 613 3,879 39,683 286 68 127 4,982 64,012 
			 F27 Northamptonshire 119 2,261 38,648 439 7 87 3,179 54,027 
			 F28 Northumbria 1,816 14,107 87,629 3,155 322 418 16,966 143,011 
			 F29 North Wales 536 1,502 30,969 403 0 76 2,977 43,545 
			 F30 North Yorkshire 306 2,983 31,708 1,341 19 879 3,781 49,903 
			 F31 Nottinghamshire 139 2,470 56,669 753 124 213 7,854 90,520 
			 F32 South Wales 1,781 6,795 63,479 1,012 127 170 17,562 105,476 
			 F33 South Yorkshire 722 5,413 83,796 1,498 175 165 16,290 128,822 
			 F34 Staffordshire 349 5,213 44,069 982 214 433 4,500 60,889 
			 F35 Suffolk 227 3,058 23,306 567 54 388 5,631 43,013 
			 F36 Surrey 748 5,473 29,413 381 50 250 8,213 58,459 
			 F37 Sussex 299 5,865 56,625 2,376 37 228 11,347 95,461 
			 F38 Thames Valley 1,514 10,066 54,052 1,488 292 618 18,864 104,227 
			 F39 Warwickshire 256 2,364 17,838 346 4 292 3,479 30,536 
			 F40 West Mercia 956 7,172 51,328 281 26 605 11,828 85,380 
			 F41 West Midlands 1,008 19,210 106,710 1,058 0 1,166 12,745 182,370 
			 F42 West Yorkshire 437 7,434 90,994 614 48 561 14,528 139,188 
			 F43 Wiltshire 51 965 14,988 61 4 77 3,141 22,693 
			 Total for Forces 24,729 266,057 2,232,717 57,921 40,944 19,226 366,357 3,661,498

Asylum: Children

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the  (a) aims and  (b) eligibility criteria are of the Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children Grant is; how much funding was (i) distributed to local authorities via the grant and (ii) subsequently spent by local authorities by local authority in each year since the grant began; and what estimate he has made of the amount of such funding to be provided in the next two years.

Phil Woolas: The aim of the grant is to assist local authorities in meeting the costs of supporting unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) under the provisions of the Children Act 1989. With a few small exceptions all UASC that the local authorities are supporting can be included in a claim for funding under the terms of the grant. The full terms of the grant and eligibility criteria can be found at:
	www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/workingwithasylumseekers/localauthoritygrants/
	The grant reimburses local authorities for expenditure already incurred (subject to audit). It is not possible to break down expenditure under the grant by year before financial year 2005/06 because of the way in which funding claims from local authorities before that time were finally settled.
	The breakdown of total expenditure over the past four years is set out in the table:
	
		
			   Total expenditure (£ million) 
			 2005-06 144.3 
			 2006-07 139.7 
			 2007-08 132.7 
			 2008-09 138.5 
		
	
	It is anticipated that funding levels for the next two years will be at roughly the same level as at present but this depends on discussions with local authorities and on the numbers of new UASC that arrive in the United Kingdom.

Asylum: Children

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what categories of expenditure are covered by the Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children Grant; how many children have received such funding in each local authority in each year since the grant began; and what estimate he has made of such funding in the next two years.

Phil Woolas: The grant covers the main expenditure local authorities incur in looking after unaccompanied asylum seeking children. This includes the cost of a foster placement, the cost of accommodation provided when fostering is not the placement option, the cost of the social workers who provide the care and general administrative costs.
	The numbers of children covered by the expenditure since the financial year 2005-06 is set out in the following table. It is not possible to break down numbers before 2005-06 because of the way in which funding claims from local authorities before that time were finally settled.
	It is anticipated that funding levels for the next two years will be at roughly the same level as at present but this depends on discussions with local authorities and on the numbers of new UASC that arrive in the United Kingdom.
	
		
			   Supported numbers at end of year 
			 2005-06 5,521 
			 2006-07 4,993 
			 2007-08 4,493 
			 2008-09 4,604

Asylum: Children

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the progress of his departmental goal to transfer a large number of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children away from London and the South East as stated in his Department's February 2007 consultation paper, Planning better outcomes and support for unaccompanied asylum seeking children.

Phil Woolas: Insufficient local authorities outside the South-East have expressed a willingness to accept the transfer of the children to their areas to make this policy goal viable.
	We are therefore developing the other policy goals set out in the consultation paper on the basis that children who are the responsibility of authorities in the South-East will stay in that area for as long as they remain in the United Kingdom.

Business: Government Assistance

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many loans have been granted under the Small Business Loan Guarantee Scheme to small and medium-sized businesses in Birmingham, Sparkbrook  Small Heath constituency since the establishment of the Scheme.

Rosie Winterton: I have been asked to reply.
	The Small Business Loan Guarantee Scheme announced in November 2008 was launched as the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) in January 2009.
	Within the constituency of Birmingham, Sparkbrook  Small Heath, as of 16 September 2009, eight businesses have been offered loans totalling £833,265.

Departmental Manpower

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the average length of employment of staff of his Department at each Civil Service payband.

Phil Woolas: The following table provides the average length of employment of staff in the Home Office and its agencies at each pay band as at 31 March 2009.
	
		
			  Pay band  Median length of service (years)  as at 31 March 2009 
			 A/AA 3.8 
			 B/AO 4.82 
			 C/EO 6.95 
			 D/HEO 7.33 
			 E/SEO 8.44 
			 F/G7 7.1 
			 G/G6 7.75 
			 SCS 3.24 
		
	
	The average length of employment refers to the length of time employees have been working in the Home Office and its agencies rather than time in a particular pay band or career length of service.

Drugs: Sentencing

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been sentenced to immediate custody for possession of drugs of each  (a) type and  (b) class in (i) each police force area and (ii) England in each of the last 10 years.

Claire Ward: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Entry Clearances

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to prohibit Yunus Yosfiah and Christoforus da Silva from entering the UK following their naming by the Coroner of New South Wales in her findings on the murders of British citizens Malcolm Rennie and Brian Peters in 1975 in East Timor; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 12 October 2009
	It is not Home Office policy to comment on individual cases. Any individual whose presence in the UK is not considered conducive to the public good may be denied entry.

Entry Clearances: Appeals

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he has issued on the time elapsing between an appeal determination being issued by the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal and a visa being issued to the applicant.

Phil Woolas: Guidance on Appeals (INF 19) is available on the UK Border Agency's Visa Services website:
	www.ukvisas.gov.uk
	This advises appellants that it can take up to six weeks for the visa section to be notified through official channels that an appeal has been allowed, and that the visa section will then contact the appellant. Visa sections are expected to do so within three weeks of receiving the notification. The guidance does not go on to indicate how long it will then take for the visa to be issued as this will depend on how quickly the appellant returns their passport to the visa section and the number of checks that need to be carried out.

Entry Clearances: Appeals

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when his Department plans to implement the decision of the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal in respect of the appeal OA/46462/2008; what the average period between a tribunal decision in favour of an appellant in an entry clearance case and the granting of entry clearance was in the most recent period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: Although appeal number OA/46462/2008 was allowed on 2 March 2009, notification was not received in the Visa Section in Islamabad until 10 June. A letter was sent to the appellant on 15 June requesting submission of the passport and this was subsequently received on 2 July. Verification checks were then undertaken and the visa was issued on 8 October. The processing was delayed due to a backlog of appeal cases in Islamabad. The UK Border Agency plans to reduce this to near zero levels by mid-November. Turnaround times in allowed appeal cases will then be significantly quicker.

Entry Clearances: Pakistan

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when a decision on the entry clearance application made to the High Commission in Islamabad, reference 1494299, will be made.

Phil Woolas: Entry clearance application reference Islamabad 1494299 was submitted on 15 April 2008 and a decision was made on 6 June 2008. Although the appeal against the decision was allowed on 2 March 2009, notification was not received in the Visa Section until 10 June 2009. A letter was sent to the appellant on 15 June 2009 requesting submission of the passport, and this was subsequently received on 2 July 2009. Verification checks were then undertaken and the visa was issued on 8 October 2009.
	The delay in processing was due to a backlog of appeal cases in Islamabad. The UK Border Agency plans to reduce this to near zero levels by mid-November. Turnaround times in allowed appeal cases will then be significantly quicker.

Entry Clearances: Students

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of people who entered the UK on a student visa and remained in the UK after the expiration of the visa in the last 10 years.

Phil Woolas: Since the phasing out of embarkation controls in 1994 no Government has ever been able to produce an accurate figure for the number of people who have overstayed their visas, including those who entered on a student visa.
	However, as part of the Government's 10-point plan for delivery, by 2010 over 95 per cent. of non-EEA foreign nationals will be counted in and out of the country, rising to 100 per cent. by 2014. This is part of a sweeping programme of border protection which also includes the global roll-out of fingerprint visas, watch-list checks for all travellers before they arrive or depart from the UK and ID cards for foreign nationals.
	Further to this, Local Immigration Teams (LITs) are being established to serve every community in the UK. Each local team will enforce immigration laws working shoulder-to-shoulder with police, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, local authorities and other local partners to target immigration crime (including seeking to detect and remove those overstaying on their visa) and address local community concerns on migration. By December 2011 there will be a team serving every community in the country.

Entry Clearances: Students

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he plans to take to ensure the effectiveness of the system for granting visas to overseas students wishing to study in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: At the end of March this year we implemented Tier 4 of the Points Based System for international students.
	We have monitored carefully the implementation of the new system, making various small changes to it in the light of experience. We have now received and processed more student applications than at the equivalent time last year, predominantly within customer service standards. Further IT changes will be introduced between now and February 2010 to further improve processing. We have kept in close touch with stakeholders to understand their needs.
	Information on end to end processing times at each overseas post can be found at:
	https://ukvisas-stage.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply/processingtimes

Human Trafficking: Females

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many shelters for trafficked women his Department plans to build in each of the next five years.

Claire Ward: I have been asked to reply.
	The Council of Europe Convention on Trafficking which the Government ratified in December last year commits the UK to provision of sheltered accommodation for all those trafficked women who need it.
	The Government have consequently invested £4 million into specialist support services for victims of human trafficking over the next two years.
	This includes an investment of £3.7 million into the Poppy project to expand and improve the services that are available to victims that have been trafficked into the sex-industry and domestic servitude. The additional investment will see an expansion of supported accommodation, with refuge places for victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation and domestic servitude in London, Sheffield and Cardiff. The investment will also fund a new national co-ordinator who will help set best practice standards and work with areas to raise awareness with local agencies and funding commissioners. There will also be an increase in advocacy workers to help provide one-to-one tailored support and the community outreach team will also be extended with two link workers based within the UK Human Trafficking Centre to work in partnership with the police, UK Border Agency and other partners to help with victim identification and onward referral into support.
	Additionally, £300,000 is being invested into the UK Human Trafficking Centre to develop flexible support services for victims of labour trafficking.

National Security

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are in place to protect the supply of  (a) water,  (b) food and  (c) communications from burn-out caused by an electromagnetic pulse attack.

David Hanson: holding answer 12 October 2009
	The Government's Cyber Security Strategy of the United Kingdom, published alongside and reflected in the National Security Strategy update, considers a number of methods of cyber attack, including those that generate high levels of power that can damage or disrupt unprotected electronics. It also outlines the new governance structures and workstreams which will build on existing work to take forward the Government's plans for reducing the impact on and vulnerability of the UK's interests from cyber attacks.
	The Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) provides advice on electronic or cyber protective security measures to the businesses and organisations that comprise the UK's critical national infrastructure, including public utilities, companies and banks CPNI also runs a CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team) service which responds to reported attacks on private sector networks. In addition, CESG, provides government departments with advice and guidance on how to protect against, detect and mitigate various types of cyber attack.
	It would not be in the interests of national security to provide information about specific protective measures relating to electromagnetic pulse attack.

Offences Against Children: Internet

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in the last five years have been convicted of offences of both child abuse and viewing online child abuse images.

Claire Ward: I have been asked to reply.
	The number of persons found guilty at all courts in England and Wales for offences relating to child pornography of taking, permitting to be taken, distributing, publishing or possession of indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children, from 2003 to 2007 (latest available) is shown in table 1 as follows. It is not possible to separately identify computer based offences from other offences related to indecent photographs.
	The number of persons found guilty at all courts in England and Wales for offences relating to child abuse, from 2003 to 2007 is shown in table 2 as follows. There is no specific offence of child abuse therefore statistics are only provided where the age of the victim can be identified as a child from the description of the offence. Furthermore the term child abuse describes harm caused to a child arising from emotional, physical, sexual abuse or neglect caused by a parent, guardian, carer, or stranger. A number of other offences such as offences against the person including physical assault may frequently be used by the police to charge offenders.
	The Sexual Offences Act 2003 significantly modernised and strengthened the laws on sexual offences in England and Wales to provide extra protection to children from sexual exploitation. This makes direct comparisons with previous legislation very difficult. Many new offences created by the Act will not have a direct equivalent under the old legislation. The Sexual Offences Act 2003 came into force on 1 May 2004. Table 2 includes, for 2003 only, comparable offences under the Sexual Offences Act 1956.
	Court proceedings data for 2008 are planned for publication at the end of November 2009.
	
		
			  Table 1: The number of persons found guilty at all courts in England and Wales for offences relating to child pornography( 1)  from 2003 to 2007( 2, 3) 
			  Offence Description  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Take, permit to be taken, or to make distribute or publish indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children 1,048 978 958 768 782 
			 Possession of an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child 239 184 196 166 185 
			 (1 )Offences under the Protection of Children Act 1978, section 1 and section 6 as amended by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, section 84  Criminal Justice  Court Services Act 2000 S.41(1); Offences under the Criminal Justice Act 1988 Sec. 160 as amended by the Criminal Justice  Court Services Act 2000. (2 )The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the more severe. (3 )Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source:  Office for Criminal Justice Reform-Evidence  Analysis Unit. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: The number of persons found guilty at all courts in England and Wales for offences relating to child abuse, 2003 to 2007( 1, 2) 
			  Statute  Offence description  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004(3) S.5 Causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable person (4)- (4)- - 2 6 
			 Children and Young Persons Act 1933 S.1 Cruelty or neglect of children 494 540 482 488 493 
			 Offences against the Person Act 1861 S.27 Abandoning children under 2 years 1 - - 2 1 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003(5) S.1 Rape of a female aged under 16 (6)254 275 234 219 236 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003(5) S.1 Rape of a male aged under 16 (6)29 28 32 15 23 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003(5) S. 5 Rape of a female child under 13 by a male (4)- 5 58 85 91 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003(5 )S. 5 Rape of a male child under 13 by a male (4)- 1 14 32 37 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003(5) S.7(5) Sexual assault of a female child under 13 (4)- 34 174 243 273 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003(5) S.8(1)(2)(1)(3), S.10(1a,b,ci)(3), S.9(1a,b,cii)(2)(3), S.10(1,a,b,c(ii)(2)(3) Sexual activity involving a child (4)- 20 127 185 190 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003(5) S.16(1ei,2-5),(1eii,2-5), S.17(1ei,2-5)(1eii,2-5), S.18(1fi,2-5), S19(1ei,2-5) Abuse of a position of trust: Sexual activity with children (4)- 3 14 16 15 
			 Total  778 906 1,135 1,287 1,365 
			 (1) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the more severe. (2 )Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts, and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3 )Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 S.5 came into force on 21 March 2005. (4 )Not applicable. (5 )The Sexual Offences Act 2003 came into force on 1 May 2004. (6 )Sexual Offences Act 1956, S.1, as amended by the Criminal Justice  Public Order Act 1994, S.142-comparable offences to S.1 Sexual Offences Act 2003.  Source:  Office for Criminal Justice Reform-Evidence  Analysis Unit

Offences Against Children: Internet

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department  (a) has taken and  (b) plans to take to implement the commitments made by G8 Justice and Home Affairs Ministers in relation to combating child pornography on the internet.

Alan Campbell: The Government fully support the declaration on combating child pornography made by the G8 in Munich in 2007, and followed up by the Declaration made in Rome this year. The Government believe that the UK has the right laws in place to tackle child sexual images, but is always willing to consider changes should the need be identified.
	The Government have been very clear that the use of blocking to prevent access to these images is something that internet service providers should do, and we are very pleased with the support from these providers, which has led to 98.6 per cent. of UK consumer broadband lines being covered by blocking of sites identified by the Internet Watch Foundation as containing such illegal images.
	The Government, through the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, has also supported the European Financial Coalition, which brings together law enforcement and the financial sector to help tackle websites providing these images for financial gain. The Government support this work, both at UK and at EU level, to make sure that not only do law enforcement catch the perpetrators, but that their financial gain is minimised.

Offensive Weapons: Schools

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the effect on the number of offences related to the possession of a knife of those aspects of the Tackling Knives Action Programme which apply to schools.

David Hanson: holding answer 20 July 2009
	Figures for possession of a knife or offensive weapon which relate to schools are too small for reliable interpretation; therefore they are counted within the sentencing statistics for England and Wales. Figures are given for all knife crime possession offences in England and Wales, including those on a school premises.
	The most recent figures from the Ministry of Justice show that the number of offences involving possession of a knife or offensive weapon fell 7 per cent. (from 6,931 to 6,477 offences) in January to March 2009, compared with the same period in 2008.
	In the same period the number of offences committed by young people aged 10-17 years fell by 15 per cent. (from 1,591 to 1,359 offences).

Opiates

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the weight notified to his Department by manufacturers of opiate derivatives and finished products of loss or theft of product was of  (a) opiate raw material,  (b) opiate medicinal products,  (c) oxycodone raw material and  (d) codeine raw material in each year between 1999 and 2009.

Alan Campbell: The data are not available in the format requested. However figures for total losses including during manufacturing, destructions, thefts and losses are available for the years 2001 to 2007 in the following table. These figures are a combination of losses during the manufacturing process, destruction and stolen/mislaid drugs and are based on figures reported by licensees. We do not have data for loss or theft alone.
	
		
			  Reported losses of opioid drugs (includes lo s ses during manufacturing process, amounts destroyed, stolen and mislaid) 
			  Kgs 
			  Drug  2007  2006  2005  2004  2003  2002  2001 
			 Codeine 1880.523 1273.943 1383.577 1762.57 1420.662 1330.045 233.929 
			 Dextromoramide 0.007 0.026 0.005 0.08 0.091 1.776 2.915 
			 Dextropropoxyphene 2.764 130.296 13.14 304.99 136.113 51.721 331.377 
			 Dihydromorphine 0.77 1.037 0.606 0 0 0 0 
			 Dihydrocodeine 12.011 570.047 326.345 49.887 96.236 18.353 14.881 
			 Diphenoxylate 0.002 0.491 0.083 0.021 0.014 1.46 1.89 
			 Dipipanone 0 0.006 0.01 0.013 0.77 23.112 0.205 
			 Etorphine 0.097 0.03 0.039 0.027 0.02 0.094 0.029 
			 Heroin 46.804 51.949 26.098 29.109 39.025 23.543 35.904 
			 Hydrocodone 0.452 0.094 0.788 0.967 44.722 2.596 3.647 
			 Hydromorphone 110.554 99.899 104.177 102.933 87.988 73.491 15.288 
			 Ketobemidone 0.009 0.157 0.239 0.521 1.58 0.114 0.257 
			 Levorphanol 0.009 0 0.009 0 0 0 0 
			 Methadone 5.184 46.574 18.588 21.279 22.711 104.658 10.579 
			 Morphine 2219.643 1728.901 2494.167 2738.084 2714.037 2118.924 1981.159 
			 Opium 0 0.215 165.025 0.001 73.153 0 0.001 
			 Oxycodone 1338.908 379.842 1735.686 987.854 415.843 223.074 71.826 
			 Oxymorphone 0.025 0 0.066 0.008 0 0 0.001 
			 Pethidine 10.401 30.482 4.385 11.061 35.181 7.159 16.491 
			 Pholcodine 3.963 94.612 146.058 109.038 19.03 16.753 4.139 
			 Thebaine 11.963 4.875 5.902 8.618 10.241 2.262 3.305 
			 Medicinal Opium 0.329 0.464 0 1.578 0.208 0.929 0.63 
			 Alfentanil 0.13 0.15175 0.174041 0.17802 0.41201 0.13029 0.059211 
			 Fentanyl 0.774 0.282424 516.72064 1.28224 2.74025 0.84992 0.391571 
			 Piritramide - 0.000005 0.0129 0 0.003 0 0.002401 
			 Remifentanil 0.069 0.000098 1.99571 11.834 9.659 0.059321 0 
			 Sufentanil 0.085 0.000026 0.09621 0.045097 0.107012 0.0202 0.030521

Police

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of differences in the delivery of policing in  (a) rural and  (b) urban areas; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The Government do not make assessments on the differences in the delivery of policing in rural and urban areas. Under the Police Performance Assessment Framework, police forces were compared within a similar group of forces. Selection criteria for these groups took into account a range of socio-economic factors including urbanisation and rurality. Following the publication of the Policing Green Paper, responsibility for assessing policing performance shifted from the Home Office to Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary (HMIC).
	The HMIC are currently reviewing the mechanisms for qualitative assessments and developing rounded assessments for the delivery of policing services.

Police Authorities: Pay

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the salary is of the  (a) chair and  (b) vice chair of each police authority in England.

David Hanson: Chairs and vice chairs of police authorities receive no salary. Under regulation 29 of the Police Authority Regulations 2009, each police authority must publish the arrangements they have in place for their chair and vice chairs' expenses and allowances. This information will be available from the individual police authorities but is not held centrally.

Police: Manpower

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there were  (a) per head of population and  (b) per notifiable offence in each police force area in each year since 1997.

Alan Johnson: holding answer 14 September 2009
	The available data are given in the following tables:
	
		
			  Police officers( 1)  (FTE)( 2)  per 100,000 of the population by police force, as at 31 March 1997 to 31 March 2009 
			  Police force  1997( 3)  1998  1999  2000  2001( 4)  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 Avon and Somerset 204 203 203 197 197 205 213 229 225 226 224 218 213 
			 Bedfordshire 200 197 189 185 184 189 198 210 215 213 207 204 209 
			 Cambridgeshire 188 184 179 172 179 187 196 197 194 196 187 183 191 
			 Cheshire 209 208 211 204 204 209 217 224 223 223 225 218 217 
			 Cleveland 261 266 255 252 253 263 294 314 305 308 315 303 314 
			 Cumbria 233 237 229 220 213 224 237 254 257 256 255 251 258 
			 Derbyshire 187 184 182 183 187 189 210 216 213 212 209 212 215 
			 Devon and Cornwall 186 192 186 182 187 192 204 208 212 219 216 214 213 
			 Dorset 189 192 186 189 196 198 205 209 211 216 217 216 213 
			 Durham 240 249 258 256 263 266 281 288 293 288 285 272 263 
			 Essex 197 193 190 183 178 181 186 192 198 203 203 203 206 
			 Gloucestershire 205 198 197 200 209 209 219 229 230 228 229 234 235 
			 Greater Manchester 268 270 265 264 268 279 298 323 321 318 314 315 321 
			 Hampshire 198 199 197 193 193 195 208 211 212 211 215 214 207 
			 Hertfordshire 205 202 198 201 184 174 191 204 206 208 210 204 204 
			 Humberside 230 228 223 219 217 234 244 256 255 251 251 248 233 
			 Kent 210 209 204 203 209 210 221 228 227 227 229 227 231 
			 Lancashire 228 229 228 223 228 231 239 252 251 253 252 254 259 
			 Leicestershire 211 214 215 215 218 224 232 246 246 241 237 233 243 
			 Lincolnshire 196 193 184 179 191 189 191 189 185 183 183 175 177 
			 London, City of(5) * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
			 Merseyside 296 297 298 290 291 294 302 303 318 315 325 331 333 
			 Metropolitan Police(5) 367 356 352 341 351 366 404 420 433 428 426 430 432 
			 Norfolk 185 184 176 175 178 183 189 190 192 193 191 190 198 
			 Northamptonshire 196 193 186 181 186 194 194 198 201 207 200 196 196 
			 Northumbria 256 263 269 266 272 278 290 294 294 291 283 285 294 
			 North Yorkshire 183 186 181 173 175 188 193 203 206 216 217 202 185 
			 Nottinghamshire 225 225 216 214 214 226 239 245 245 243 235 224 227 
			 South Yorkshire 242 244 243 243 245 246 252 261 260 259 256 248 235 
			 Staffordshire 209 217 211 204 201 201 212 218 220 219 219 214 208 
			 Suffolk 180 179 179 171 168 177 188 196 195 191 196 188 182 
			 Surrey 209 207 212 227 192 184 182 183 184 184 183 179 170 
			 Sussex 211 203 191 188 188 190 203 206 205 207 205 201 208 
			 Thames Valley 180 183 180 178 175 177 186 195 198 202 199 194 198 
			 Warwickshire 186 185 180 178 182 190 198 197 195 198 199 198 189 
			 West Mercia 183 180 180 166 171 176 196 202 203 202 205 210 208 
			 West Midlands 270 271 278 274 283 293 307 311 316 318 318 324 332 
			 West Yorkshire 247 244 236 228 228 230 242 254 271 270 270 269 268 
			 Wiltshire 195 195 192 185 184 189 190 198 198 196 192 190 191 
			 Dyfed-Powys 212 210 215 217 219 234 237 236 237 237 236 237 236 
			 Gwent 275 222 224 227 229 239 244 248 259 264 268 266 257 
			 North Wales 208 213 212 213 220 228 234 243 250 242 238 234 234 
			 South Wales 223 242 241 236 250 259 273 275 273 271 273 264 255 
			 England and Wales 241 240 237 233 234 240 254 264 267 267 266 264 266 
			 (1) This table is based on full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. (2) Figures up to 31 March 2002 exclude staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. The figures for 31 March 2003 onwards figures include those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. (3) Boundary changes on 1 April 1996 transferred resources for the policing of the Rhymney Valley from South Wales Police to Gwent Police. (4) Boundary changes on 1 April 2000 transferred some resources from the Metropolitan Police to Essex, Hertfordshire and Surrey police forces. (5) Officers per 100,000 population for City of London and Metropolitan Police are combined. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 1: Total offences per officer for 1997 
			  Police force area  Number 
			 Avon and Somerset 48 
			 Bedfordshire 44 
			 Cambridgeshire 47 
			 Cheshire 30 
			 Cleveland 43 
			 Cumbria 31 
			 Derbyshire 42 
			 Devon and Cornwall 32 
			 Dorset 34 
			 Durham 32 
			 Essex 31 
			 Gloucestershire 43 
			 Greater Manchester 44 
			 Hampshire 36 
			 Hertfordshire 29 
			 Humberside 60 
			 Kent 38 
			 Lancashire 37 
			 Leicestershire 41 
			 Lincolnshire 36 
			 London, City of 6 
			 Merseyside 30 
			 Metropolitan police 30 
			 Norfolk 37 
			 Northamptonshire 46 
			 Northumbria 37 
			 North Yorkshire 37 
			 Nottinghamshire 55 
			 South Yorkshire 41 
			 Staffordshire 39 
			 Suffolk 30 
			 Surrey 24 
			 Sussex 37 
			 Thames Valley 42 
			 Warwickshire 39 
			 West Mercia 47 
			 West Midlands 39 
			 West Yorkshire 47 
			 Wiltshire 29 
			 England 37 
			  Note: Recorded crime statistics were collected on a calendar year basis up to 1997 and thereafter on a financial year basis. Therefore, these figures are not comparable with those for later years. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Total offences per officer for 1998-99 to 2001-02 
			  Number 
			  Police force area  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02 
			 Avon and Somerset 50 50 50 57 
			 Bedfordshire 47 52 48 49 
			 Cambridgeshire 53 56 50 51 
			 Cheshire 31 32 32 34 
			 Cleveland 47 46 46 49 
			 Cumbria 36 35 31 34 
			 Derbyshire 48 48 45 49 
			 Devon and Cornwall 38 39 35 33 
			 Dorset 41 40 37 40 
			 Durham 32 31 28 32 
			 Essex 33 37 37 38 
			 Gloucestershire 44 46 43 43 
			 Greater Manchester 53 55 53 53 
			 Hampshire 37 40 39 39 
			 Hertfordshire 29 30 33 37 
			 Humberside 66 63 58 57 
			 Kent 40 39 39 36 
			 Lancashire 36 34 36 42 
			 Leicestershire 47 47 43 42 
			 Lincolnshire 41 41 37 42 
			 London, City of 9 11 12 13 
			 Merseyside 33 36 35 37 
			 Metropolitan police 36 41 40 40 
			 Norfolk 41 43 40 40 
			 Northamptonshire 58 55 49 50 
			 Northumbria 39 38 35 35 
			 North Yorkshire 41 42 40 42 
			 Nottinghamshire 61 62 61 68 
			 South Yorkshire 42 42 39 42 
			 Staffordshire 41 46 49 55 
			 Suffolk 34 38 39 42 
			 Surrey 26 26 31 31 
			 Sussex 46 48 48 47 
			 Thames Valley 47 51 51 52 
			 Warwickshire 42 43 40 44 
			 West Mercia 40 45 40 51 
			 West Midlands 43 51 49 48 
			 West Yorkshire 55 54 54 61 
			 Wiltshire 33 34 33 33 
			 England 41 44 42 44 
			  Notes: 1. The coverage was extended and counting rules revised from 1989-99. Figures from that date are not directly comparable with those for 1997 and earlier. 2. The data in this table are prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard. These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Total offences per officer for 2002-03 to 2008-09 
			  Number 
			  Police force area  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Avon and Somerset 55 48 48 46 48 44 42 
			 Bedfordshire 55 53 48 50 48 44 37 
			 Cambridgeshire 61 57 53 47 50 49 46 
			 Cheshire 40 42 41 44 41 37 35 
			 Cleveland 47 44 41 43 40 40 31 
			 Cumbria 33 32 35 35 31 30 25 
			 Derbyshire 52 48 41 40 40 37 35 
			 Devon and Cornwall 41 40 40 36 36 32 29 
			 Dorset 44 44 40 40 37 35 35 
			 Durham 31 29 27 31 32 30 29 
			 Essex 46 47 42 40 39 36 32 
			 Gloucestershire 45 45 41 41 40 34 32 
			 Greater Manchester 52 46 40 41 42 38 35 
			 Hampshire 42 48 46 47 48 44 43 
			 Hertfordshire 44 46 46 45 42 38 36 
			 Humberside 63 64 56 52 51 44 42 
			 Kent 37 38 38 41 40 36 32 
			 Lancashire 39 43 43 40 38 34 32 
			 Leicestershire 45 42 42 41 42 40 37 
			 Lincolnshire 51 49 48 47 45 44 42 
			 London, City of 12 11 10 10 9 9 9 
			 Merseyside 40 41 40 41 35 29 27 
			 Metropolitan police 39 36 33 32 30 28 27 
			 Norfolk 48 46 43 42 40 36 30 
			 Northamptonshire 61 63 58 52 52 50 45 
			 Northumbria 42 39 35 33 33 28 26 
			 North Yorkshire 47 47 40 36 33 32 35 
			 Nottinghamshire 67 64 57 56 57 54 49 
			 South Yorkshire 48 43 43 50 49 45 43 
			 Staffordshire 49 48 44 46 46 39 39 
			 Suffolk 40 41 40 41 38 37 37 
			 Surrey 36 38 37 36 39 36 36 
			 Sussex 44 44 46 44 43 39 34 
			 Thames Valley 54 52 50 48 50 48 46 
			 Warwickshire 44 45 43 42 43 41 40 
			 West Mercia 47 45 40 36 34 34 32 
			 West Midlands 45 43 36 36 34 30 27 
			 West Yorkshire 64 62 47 46 44 40 37 
			 Wiltshire 38 35 33 35 37 37 34 
			 England 45 44 40 40 38 35 33 
			  Note: The data in this table take account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are therefore not directly comparable with those for earlier years.

Police: Manpower

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers were employed in  (a) Vale of York constituency,  (b) North Yorkshire,  (c) Yorkshire and the Humber and  (d) England in (i) 1997, (ii) 2006, (iii) 2007, (iv) 2008 and (v) 2009.

David Hanson: Officer strength figures for North Yorkshire, the Yorkshire and Humber Government office region and England are all available within the annual Police Service Strength England and Wales, Statistical Bulletin. Figures as at 31 March are published every July.
	Police personnel statistics are not available by parliamentary constituency. Figures at basic command unit level are available in the supplementary tables to the statistical bulletin.
	Recent editions of the bulletin are available on the Home Office website and previous editions are available in the House of Commons Library at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/policeorg1.html

Police: Pay

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many employees of police services received more than £64,000 in salary in the latest year for which figures are available.

David Hanson: This information is not held centrally.

Police: Rural Areas

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the maximum acceptable response time is for a police force to respond to a report of a crime in a rural area.

David Hanson: The Policing Pledge, introduced in the Green Paper 2008, sets out the police service's offer to citizens for delivery of service.
	The pledge includes specific elements that encompass how the service aims to respond to reports of crimes. That response will depend on the grading applied in accordance with National Call gradings. There is no maximum acceptable response time, but in the case of an emergency in a rural area, most police forces aim to respond within 20 minutes.
	In other cases, the response will be determined in accordance with the caller's needs and the provisions within the pledge.

Surveillance

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many requests were  (a) made and  (b) granted to use powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 by (i) each local authority and (ii) each NHS trust in England in (A) 2003-04 and (B) 2007-08.

David Hanson: The Government do not have figures for individual public authorities. The total number of requests for each covert investigative technique is available in the published, independent annual reports of the Interception of Communications Commissioner and the Chief Surveillance Commissioner. These give the following:
	
		
			  Table on covert investigatory powers authorised 
			  Interception  2003  2007 
			 Authorised by the Home Secretary or Scottish Executive 1,983 2,026 
			 Communications data 2003 2007 
			 By all public authorities (1)- 519,260 
			 By local authorities (1)- 1,707 
			 Intrusive Surveillance 2003/04 2007/08 
			 By law enforcement agencies 447 355 
			 Property interference 2003/04 2007/08 
			 By law enforcement agencies 2,483 2,493 
			 Directed surveillance 2003/04 2007/08 
			 By law enforcement agencies 26,986 18,767 
			 By other public authorities 6,398 9,535 
			 CHIS 2003/04 2007/08 
			 By law enforcement agencies 5,907 4,498 
			 By other public authorities 273 234 
			 (1) Not given  Note: Figures taken from annual reports from the relevant oversight Commissioner 
		
	
	The figures are not broken down further. Copies of the Commissioners' reports are in the House Library.

Terrorism

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people convicted of terrorism offences in the UK since 2001 are foreign nationals.

Phil Woolas: Details of the nationality of individuals who have been convicted of terrorism offences since 2001 are not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Terrorism: Deportation

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people convicted of terrorism offences in the UK since 2001 have been deported.

Phil Woolas: Details of the number of people who have been convicted of terrorism offences and who have subsequently been deported since 2001 are not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Terrorism: Illegal Immigrants

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people convicted of terrorism offences in the UK since 2001 were illegal immigrants.

Phil Woolas: Details of the number of illegal immigrants who have been convicted of terrorism offences since 2001 are not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Work Permits: Bulgaria/Romania

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many UK work permits have been issued to  (a) Romanian and  (b) Bulgarian nationals since the accession of those countries to the EU.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 14 September 2009
	The number of work permits issued between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2008 to Romanian nationals is 1,690 and to Bulgarian nationals is 3,240.
	Figures are rounded to nearest 5.
	The figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.
	The figures equate to the number of individual nationals who were granted a work permit. Not all those who were granted a work permit took up the job and some may have been refused entry clearance or further leave to remain.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Building Schools for the Future Programme: Sixth Form Colleges

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2009,  Official Report, column 636W, on the Building Schools for the Future programme: sixth form colleges, how sixth form colleges located within local authority areas which have already received Building Schools for the Future funding will access funds to renew their buildings; and what assessments he made in relation to the sixth form college estate in deciding which local authorities will be included in the next wave of the Building Schools for the Future programme.

Vernon Coaker: Pursuant to the answer of 21 July 2009,  Official Report, column 1403W, I restate that we have made our intention clear to bring sixth form colleges within the scope of the Building Schools for the Future programme. That remains our position. We will make the details clear as soon as we are able.

Children: Prisoners

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assistance is made available to children with one or both parents in prison  (a) to maintain contact with their parents where appropriate,  (b) to prevent unequal treatment of them and  (c) for other purposes.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department recognises that many children of offenders are vulnerable and is working closely with the Ministry of Justice and National Offender Management Service to meet their needs.
	The Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Ministry of Justice will jointly publish a cross-Government framework later this year setting out recommended practice by local agencies and offenders services in identifying and supporting these children. The Department has also funded a range of innovative voluntary sector projects supporting families of offenders through the Children, Young People and Families (CYPF) grant programme.
	In addition to this many prison establishments hold regular family days for visitors-enabling children to spend a longer period of time with their parent who is in custody. This will often involve opportunities for participation in family learning and play and sports activities, enabling offenders to interact with their children on a one to one basis. The Assisted Prison Visits Scheme operated by the National Offender Management Service also helps children maintain contact with their parent while they are in prison by meeting travel expenses where the child's parent has a low income.

Children: Prisoners

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what support is given to children with one or more parents in prison, with particular reference to  (a) maintaining contact with the parent or parents, unless this is deemed contrary to the child's best interests and  (b) preventing stigmatisation of and discrimination against them.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department recognises that many children of offenders are vulnerable and is working closely with the Ministry of Justice and National Offender Management Service to meet their needs.
	The Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Ministry of Justice will jointly publish a cross- government Framework later this year setting out recommended practice by local agencies and offenders services in identifying and supporting these children. The Department has also funded a range of innovative voluntary sectors projects supporting families of offenders through the Children, Young People and Families (CYPF) grant programme.
	In addition to this many prison establishments hold regular family days for visitors-enabling children to spend a longer period of time with their parent who is in custody. This will often involve opportunities for participation in family learning and play and sports activities, enabling offenders to interact with their children on a one-to-one basis. The Assisted Prison Visits Scheme operated by the National Offender Management Service also helps children maintain contact with their parent while they are in prison by meeting travel expenses where the child's parent has a low income.

Children: Social Services

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps he has taken to ensure social workers and directors of children's services are aware of the provisions of section 53 of the Children Act 2004; and whether his Department plans to issue good practice guidance on taking the views of children into account in decision-making.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government's statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children (2006), supplementary guidance associated with Working Together and the Statutory guidance on making arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children under section 11 of the Children Act 2004 (2007) all set out the responsibilities of directors of children's services and social workers in relation to section 53 of the Children Act 2004. The training materials Safeguarding Children-a shared responsibility (2007), commissioned by the Department for Children, Schools and Families to assist staff at all levels fulfil their safeguarding responsibilities, also explain these provisions and advise on how to implement them in appropriate ways. The updated Working Together, being revised following Lord Laming's recommendations, will make even clearer the responsibilities of those concerned to ascertain the wishes and feelings of children.

Children's Trusts

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what roles schools have in providing information to parents on Children's Trusts; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Subject to the passage of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill 2009 currently before Parliament, maintained schools will become 'relevant partners' of the Children's Trust, and statutory members of the Children's Trust Board. Subject to consultation, statutory guidance will make clear that each Children's Trust Board should ensure that systems are in place to provide accessible and comprehensive information about what services are available locally to parents and young people.

GCSE

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of maintained mainstream schools did not enter any pupils for  (a) physics,  (b) chemistry,  (c) biology and  (d) history GCSE in 2008.

Vernon Coaker: Of the 3,159 maintained mainstream schools published in the 2008 Achievement and Attainment Tables,
	1,810 (57.3 per cent.) entered no pupils for physics,
	1,802 (57.0 per cent.) entered no pupils for chemistry,
	1,737 (54.8 per cent.) entered no pupils for biology and
	131 (4.1 per cent.) entered no pupil for history.

National Curriculum Tests: Disadvantaged

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of pupils who failed to achieve a Level 4 or above in reading, writing and mathematics in their Key Stage 2 tests in the latest period for which figures are available were eligible to receive free school meals.

Vernon Coaker: The requested information is shown as follows:
	
		
			   Pupils achieving Level 3 or below in reading, writing and maths( 1) 
			  Free school meal eligibility  Number  Percentage 
			 FSM 17,783 33 
			 Non FSM 35,058 66 
			 Total(2) 53,332 100 
			 (1) Includes pupils working below the level of the test (Level B); pupils who took the test but failed to registered a level (Level N), Level 2 (maths only); Level 3. (2) Includes pupils for whom FSM information was not sought or for which information was refused.

Pupil Exclusions

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what research his Department has commissioned on the effects of exclusion on pupils in the last three years;
	(2)  what guidance his Department has issued to schools on the criteria to be used in determining whether or not to exclude a specific pupil;
	(3)  what guidance his Department has issued to local education authorities on school exclusions and the provision of alternative arrangements for the education of excluded pupils.

Vernon Coaker: The law on exclusion is a devolved issue and any question relating to Wales' educational system should be put to the Welsh Assembly.
	The Department has not commissioned research on the impact of exclusion from school on pupils in the last three years.
	Guidance for schools and local authorities in England on exclusion is available in Improving behaviour and attendance: guidance on exclusion from schools and Pupil Referral Units 2008 available at:
	www.teachernet.gov.uk/exclusion
	Head teachers have discretion to deal with pupils who are displaying challenging behaviour. Responses to such behaviour should be made in the context of the school's behaviour policy, and should encompass a range of strategies, with exclusion as one option, so that the interests of the whole school are reflected in the action taken.
	Exclusion from school in England should not mean exclusion from education. Since September 2007, all schools have had a statutory duty to provide suitable, full-time education for pupils who have been given a fixed period exclusion of six days or more. Likewise, English local authorities have a duty to arrange suitable, full-time education for pupils who have been permanently excluded from the sixth day of their exclusion. This requirement applies to all pupils of compulsory school age.

Schools: Manpower

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many  (a) teachers and  (b) classroom assistants were employed in maintained schools in each local education authority area in the North West in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: The following table provides the full time equivalent number of regular teachers and teaching assistants in service in local authority maintained schools in each local authority in the North West Government Office Region in January 1997 to 2009.
	
		
			  Full-time equivalent regular teachers (excluding occasional)( 1)  and teaching assistants( 2)  in local authority( 3)  maintained schools. Years: January 1997 to 2009. Coverage: Local authority area in the North West Government Office Region 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			  Teachers  
			 Cumbria 4,030 4,060 4,130 4,240 4,180 4,380 4,430 4,450 4,560 4,750 4,260 4,350 4,210 
			 Former Cheshire 8,190 8,240 - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Cheshire (post 1.4.98) - - 5,490 5,610 5,600 5,680 5,770 5,710 5,700 5,770 5,780 5,730 6,060 
			 Halton - - 1,220 1,140 1,140 1,140 1,170 1,140 1,130 1,140 1,150 1,150 1,110 
			 Warrington - - 1,530 1,650 1,680 1,720 1,730 1,780 1,800 1,880 1,810 1,820 1,820 
			 Bolton 2,440 2,430 2,430 2,500 2,500 2,560 2,540 2,540 2,510 2,550 2,550 2,570 2,580 
			 Bury 1,460 1,420 1,460 1,470 1,480 1,490 1,500 1,500 1,550 1,590 1,550 1,540 1,550 
			 Manchester 3,850 3,730 4,220 3,750 3,790 3,760 3,820 3,830 3,990 3,920 3,840 3,910 3,910 
			 Oldham 2,240 2,220 2,230 2,220 2,280 2,270 2,250 2,290 2,380 2,350 2,310 2,290 2,290 
			 Rochdale 1,830 1,840 1,830 1,880 1,870 1,900 1,890 1,930 1,920 1,950 1,910 1,870 1,870 
			 Salford 1,920 1,900 1,900 1,950 1,920 1,920 1,890 1,930 1,930 1,910 1,940 1.820 1,760 
			 Stockport 2,220 2,170 2,210 2,210 2,330 2,350 2,340 2,380 2,280 2,270 2,270 2,200 2,200 
			 Tameside 1,830 1,870 1,940 1,960 1,930 2,070 2,030 2,010 1,990 2,020 1,970 1,990 1,890 
			 Trafford 1,750 1,860 1,880 1,910 1,900 1,880 2,020 1,970 1,960 2,010 2,040 2,100 2,000 
			 Wigan 2,760 2,690 2,690 2,690 2,590 2,800 2,800 2,830 2,890 2,800 2,770 2,700 2,770 
			 Former Lancashire 11,870 11,930 - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Lancashire (post 1.4.98) - - 9,690 9,750 9,710 9,640 9,710 9,920 9,910 9,950 9,840 9,850 9,800 
			 Blackburn with Darwen - - 1,360 1,390 1,310 1,390 1,400 1,410 1,420 1,480 1,460 1,350 1,440 
			 Blackpool - - 1,010 1,030 1,100 1,120 1,150 1,160 1,220 1,260 1,230 1,140 1,180 
			 Knowsley 1,530 1',530 1,570 1,640 1,530 1,450 1,570 1,510 1,500 1,470 1,430 1,390 1,390 
			 Liverpool 4,340 4,280 4,240 4,130 4,320 4,750 4,290 4,410 4,350 4,290 4,150 4,170 4,180 
			 St. Helens 1,590 1,570 1,570 1,570 1,570 1,580 1,630 1,550 1,600 1,570 1,550 1,550 1,540 
			 Sefton 2,540 2,520 2,510 2,540 2,610 2,620 2,660 2,700 2,520 2,520 2,500 2,450 2,420 
			 Wirral 2,930 2,970 2,990 2,970 3,020 3,090 3,080 3,050 3,050 3,020 2,970 2,800 3,030 
			 North West 59,300 59,200 60,100 60200 60,400 61,600 61,700 62,000 62,200 62,500 61,300 60,800 61,000 
			   
			  Teaching Assistants  
			 Cumbria 610 620 660 730 840 1,100 1,110 1,150 1,200 1,310 1,470 1,540 1,540 
			 Former Cheshire 1,130 1,240 - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Cheshire (post 1.4.98) - - 830 870 1,020 1,120 1,230 1,350 1,530 1,740 1,960 2,240 2,370 
			 Halton - - 190 200 240 250 270 320 320 330 350 370 410 
			 Warrington - - 250 270 320 370 380 440 510 630 690 720 800 
			 Bolton 390 430 480 570 650 790 830 950 1,050 1,070 1,090 1,190 1,190 
			 Bury 270 260 280 330 360 460 480 540 590 640 680 740 810 
			 Manchester 740 750 750 810 1,080 1,430 1,610 1,750 1,880 1,920 2.290 2,100 2,410 
			 Oldham 390 410 430 470 560 580 630 690 780 830 950 1,050 1,070 
			 Rochdale 260 270 290 340 530 680 710 760 840 860 950 1,040 1,130 
			 Salford 430 440 450 480 530 700 570 660 790 780 820 900 840 
			 Stockport 340 360 310 410 510 670 700 750 810 780 840 910 980 
			 Tameside 280 290 310 360 490 360 420 460 520 660 650 770 710 
			 Trafford 190 200 220 230 300 230 300 380 420 440 510 650 650 
			 Wigan 340 390 420 430 560 440 740 800 880 980 1,160 1,130 1,190 
			 Former Lancashire 1,780 2,000 - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Lancashire (post 1.4.98) - - 1,670 1,830 2,190 1,960 3,130 3,300 3,570 3,890 4,070 4,640 4,870 
			 Blackburn with Darwen - - 300 350 430 360 530 580 610 650 660 740 760 
			 Blackpool - - 190 220 290 190 390 430 480 480 470 560 560 
			 Knowsley 210 230 260 280 350 470 430 490 480 460 510 610 600 
			 Liverpool 450 490 520 610 920 720 1,150 1,150 1,190 1,130 1,100 1,260 1,300 
			 St. Helens 260 270 290 310 390 420 480 530 640 610 640 660 720 
			 Sefton 360 380 410 470 580 490 650 680 750 780 870 1,020 1,010 
			 Wirral 320 350 390 420 570 620 780 790 850 1,020 1,010 1,110 1,170 
			 North West 8,750 9370 9,920 10,990 13,700 14,400 17500 18,950 20,700 22,020 23,730 25,970 27,080 
			 (1) Source:  Annual Survey of Teachers in Service and Teacher Vacancies (618g). (2) Source:  School Census. (3) The first, second and third phases of local government reorganisation came into effect on 1 April 1996, 1 April 1997 and 1 April 1998 respectively. The new authorities are shown directly below their former parent local education authorities.

Schools: Nottingham

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the value added measures for each school in Nottingham were in the latest period for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: The Achievement and Attainment Tables (AATs) give a summary of performance of each school, including their Contextual Value Added measure.
	The 2008 AATs can be found at
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/performancetables/
	and are also in the Library.

Science: GCSE

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many schools in the  (a) maintained mainstream and  (b) independent sector had one or more students achieve a GCSE in both core science and additional applied science in each year since 2007;
	(2)  at how many schools in the  (a) maintained mainstream and  (b) independent sector one or more students achieved a GCSE in both core science and additional science in each year since 2007.

Vernon Coaker: In 2007, no schools had one or more pupils at the end of key stage 4 achieve pass grades in both core science and additional applied science GCSEs. In 2008, 908 maintained schools and 14 independent schools had one or more pupils at the end of key stage 4 achieve pass grades in both core science and additional applied science GCSEs.
	In 2007, 37 maintained schools and one independent school had one or more pupils at the end of key stage 4 achieve pass grades in both core science and additional science GCSEs.
	In 2008, 2,992 maintained schools and 549 independent schools had one or more pupils at the end of key stage 4 achieve pass grades in both core science and additional science GCSEs.
	 Source
	Achievement and Attainment Tables database

Science: GCSE

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which schools in the National Challenge programme  (a) entered pupils for and  (b) offered courses in the separate sciences at GCSE in the most recent year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Department does not hold information on which subjects are offered by schools.
	Based on 2008 data, the latest year for which validated results are available, there were 440 schools below the National Challenge floor target. Of those, 125 schools entered at least one pupil in at least one of the separate sciences in 2008. Those schools are listed as follows.
	
		
			   Location 
			 Kidbrooke School Greenwich 
			 St. Michael and All Angels CofE Academy Southwark 
			 St. Paul's Way Community School Tower Hamlets 
			 George Green's School Tower Hamlets 
			 Bexleyheath School Bexley 
			 The Business Academy Bexley Bexley 
			 John Kelly Boys' Technology College Brent 
			 Selsdon High School Croydon 
			 Albany School Enfield 
			 Harlington Community School Hillingdon 
			 Barnhill Community High School Hillingdon 
			 Stockley Academy Hillingdon 
			 Feltham Community College Hounslow 
			 Tom Hood Community Science College Waltham Forest 
			 Golden Hillock School, a Specialist College for Sport Birmingham 
			 Hodge Hill Sports and Enterprise College Birmingham 
			 Cockshut Hill Technology College Birmingham 
			 Moseley School A Language College Birmingham 
			 George Dixon International School and Sixth Form Centre Birmingham 
			 Castle High School and Visual Arts College Dudley 
			 Menzies High School Sandwell 
			 Bristnall Hall Technology College Sandwell 
			 Holly Lodge Foundation High School College of Science Sandwell 
			 Smith's Wood Sports College Solihull 
			 Grace Academy Solihull Solihull 
			 Darlaston Community Science College Walsall 
			 Willenhall School Sports College Walsall 
			 All Saints Catholic High School Knowsley 
			 Alsop High School Technology and Applied Learning Specialist College Liverpool 
			 Broadgreen International School, A Technology College Liverpool 
			 Harper Green School Bolton 
			 Hayward School Bolton 
			 North Manchester High School for Boys Manchester 
			 Cedar Mount High School Manchester 
			 The Hathershaw College of Technology and Sport Oldham 
			 Buile Hill High School Salford 
			 PEMBEC High School Wigan 
			 Hesketh Fletcher CofE High School, Atherton Wigan 
			 The Foulstone School Barnsley 
			 Willowgarth High School Barnsley 
			 Northcliffe School Doncaster 
			 Hatfield Visual Arts College Doncaster 
			 Mexborough School Doncaster 
			 Clifton: A Community Arts School Rotherham 
			 The City School Sheffield 
			 Yewlands School Technology College Sheffield 
			 Buttershaw Business and Enterprise College Bradford 
			 Wyke Manor School Bradford 
			 Rhodesway School Bradford 
			 Nab Wood School Bradford 
			 Parklands Girls' High School Leeds 
			 All Saints College Newcastle upon Tyne 
			 Norham Community Technology College North Tyneside 
			 Castle View School A Specialist Business and Enterprise College Sunderland 
			 Henbury School City of Bristol 
			 Monks Park School City of Bristol 
			 Bridge Learning Campus-Secondary City of Bristol 
			 The City Academy Bristol City of Bristol 
			 King's Manor School, Specialist Sports College Middlesbrough 
			 Kingswood College of Arts City of Kingston upon Hull 
			 Archbishop Thurstan Church of England Voluntary Controlled School City of Kingston upon Hull 
			 The Lindsey School and Community Arts College North East Lincolnshire 
			 Matthew Humberstone Church of England School North East Lincolnshire 
			 Oasis Academy Wintringham North East Lincolnshire 
			 Parkside Community School Derbyshire 
			 Shirebrook School Derbyshire 
			 Springwell Community School Derbyshire 
			 Bern rose School City of Derby 
			 Royal Manor Arts College Dorset 
			 Wellfield Community School a Specialist Maths and Computing College Durham 
			 Eastbourne Technology College East Sussex 
			 Patcham High School Brighton and Hove 
			 Oak Farm Community School Hampshire 
			 Mayfield School Portsmouth 
			 St. Luke's CofE VA Secondary School Portsmouth 
			 Woodlands Community College Southampton 
			 Riverside Business and Enterprise College Leicester City 
			 Fullhurst Community College Leicester City 
			 Belgrave High School Staffordshire 
			 Berry Hill High School and Sports College Stoke on Trent 
			 Churchfields School Swindon 
			 Ryeish Green School Wokingham 
			 Coleridge Community College Cambridgeshire 
			 St. Neots Community College Cambridgeshire 
			 Thomas Clarkson Community College Cambridgeshire 
			 Sir William Stanier Community School Cheshire 
			 Paignton Community and Sports College Torbay 
			 St. Peter's Church of England and Specialist Arts College Essex 
			 Sawyers Hall College Essex 
			 The Grays School Media Arts College Thurrock 
			 The Gateway Academy Thurrock 
			 Baxter College Worcestershire 
			 Swanley Technology College Kent 
			 Hartsdown Technology College Kent 
			 The Towers School Kent 
			 Wilmington Enterprise College Kent 
			 Sittingbourne Community College Kent 
			 Minster College Kent 
			 St. George's Church of England Foundation School Kent 
			 Pent Valley School Kent 
			 Brockhill Park Performing Arts College Kent 
			 The Hundred of Hoo Comprehensive School Medway 
			 Chapter School Medway 
			 City of Preston High School Lancashire 
			 Skerton Community High School Lancashire 
			 Fleetwood Sports College Lancashire 
			 Sir John Thursby Community College Lancashire 
			 Portland School Nottinghamshire 
			 The Queen Elizabeth's (1561) Endowed School Nottinghamshire 
			 Top Valley School and Engineering College City of Nottingham 
			 Redruth School: a Technology College Cornwall 
			 Thorncliffe School-A Specialist Sports College Cumbria 
			 Southfield Technology College Cumbria 
			 Brockworth Enterprise School Gloucestershire 
			 The Aveland High School Lincolnshire 
			 Birkbeck School and Community Arts College Lincolnshire 
			 Saint Bede's Catholic Science College Lincolnshire 
			 Smithdon High School Norfolk 
			 Marshland High School Norfolk 
			 Kingsthorpe College Northamptonshire 
			 Hirst High School Northumberland 
			 Robert Blake Science College Somerset 
			 Chilton Trinity Technology College Somerset 
			 Chantry High School and Sixth Form Centre Suffolk 
			 Manhood Community College West Sussex 
			  Source: Achievement and Attainment Tables' database.

Serlby Park School: Finance

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what capital funding bids submitted to his Department by Nottinghamshire County Council in the last 12 months contained reference to Serlby Park 3-18 school.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 12 October 2009
	Nottinghamshire county council has not submitted any bids for funding a three to 18 school at Serlby Park. Most capital funding is allocated by means of a formula rather than through a bidding process. Decisions about priorities for investment are rightly matters for local determination.

Specialised Diplomas

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent assessment he has made of the standards of  (a) English and  (b) mathematics teaching for students studying for the diploma qualification.

Vernon Coaker: The Department does not routinely make assessments of standards in English and mathematics teaching. The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills makes these assessments. The recent Ofsted report, Implementation of 14-19 reforms, including the introduction of Diplomas, published on 17 August 2009, includes an evaluation of the first year of teaching of functional skills in mathematics and English as part of the Diploma.
	The Department has substantially increased its work for the 2009/10 academic year with schools and local authorities, through a programme of support provided by National Strategies, to support the teaching and learning of functional skills across all of the curriculum, and act on the findings of the Ofsted report. As part of offering this support, NS and LSIS work continually at a local level to assess training requirements in the light of readiness for functional skills teaching in local schools, colleges and other post-16 institutions.

Sure Start Programme: Finance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of funding for Sure Start  (a) children's centres and  (b) local programmes has been retained by each local authority in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and what the total (i) revenue and (ii) capital allocation was in each case.

Dawn Primarolo: Local authorities do not retain unspent allocation of the Sure Start, early years and childcare grant (SSEYCG). The Department claws back any unspent allocation of revenue following receipt of audited statements of expenditure. The Department also does this for capital allocations but offers carry-forward of unspent capital each year until the end of March 2011 (2010-11 financial year).
	The information requested has been placed in the Libraries. The Sure Start Local Programme (SSLP) and children's centres allocations for each local authority for the last three years are given in table 1. The spend by local authorities for the last three years for which figures are available are given in table 2.

Teachers: Hemsworth

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average full-time equivalent gross pay of teachers was in schools in Hemsworth constituency in  (a) cash and  (b) real terms in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available at the constituency level but can be provided by local authority where the data source is considered to be of sufficient quality.
	Information on the average salary of teachers is available only for full-time regular qualified teachers in service in local authority maintained schools. The following table provides this information for Wakefield local authority in both cash and real terms in each year, March 1997 to 2007, the latest year for which information is available by local authority.
	
		
			  Average salary of full-time regular qualified teachers in local authority maintained schools, March 1997 to 2007, Wakefield local authority 
			   Gross average salary (£)( 1) 
			   Actual  Real terms( 2) 
			 1997 22,100 28,000 
			 1998 22,800 28,100 
			 1999 23,600 28,600 
			 2000 24,800 29,400 
			 2001 26,800 31,300 
			 2002 27,700 31,600 
			 2003 29,500 32,700 
			 2004 30,700 33,100 
			 2005 31,700 33,200 
			 2006(3) 32,800 33,700 
			 2007(3) 33,900 33,900 
			 (1) Gross salary of teachers of all grades including allowances. (2 )Adjusted using HM Treasury GDP deflator. (3) Provisional.  Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest £100.  Source: Database of Teacher records

Teachers: Training

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many entrants to postgraduate certificate of education courses had a lower second class degree or better in the last year for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many entrants to postgraduate certificate of education courses had a third class or lower classification degree in the last year for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: The following tables show the number of first year trainees in 2006-07 by the classification of their first degree for:
	1. Postgraduate ITT trainees
	2. Employment Based Routes (EBR) trainees.
	
		
			  Table 1:  Proportion of postgraduate trainees in their first year of mainstream ITT courses by classification of first degree 2006-07, England 
			   First year ITT entrants 
			  Classification of first UK degree  Number  Percentage 
			 Total with 2:2 and above 20,660 92.6 
			 Third 760 3.4 
			 Pass 440 2.0 
			 Unclassified 460 2.1 
			 Total 22,320 100.0 
			  Notes: 1. First year entrants to post graduate ITT courses. Includes Universities and other Higher Education Institutions, SCITT and Open University. Excludes employment based routes and cases where QTS was granted without a course in ITT. 2. Classification of first UK degree only. 3. Unclassified includes cases where degree class was undefined or unknown. 4. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: TDA's Performance Profiles 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2:  Proportion of postgraduate trainees in their first year of employment based routes to ITT by classification of first degree 2006-07, England 
			   First year ITT entrants 
			  Classification of first UK degree  Number  Percentage 
			 Total with 2:2 and above 4,630 88.6 
			 Third 260 4.9 
			 Pass 340 6.5 
			 Unclassified 0 0.0 
			 Total 5,230 100.0 
			  Notes: 1. Excludes Universities and other Higher Education Institutions, SCITT and Open University and cases where QTS was granted without a course in ITT. 2. Classification of first UK degree only. 3. Unclassified includes cases where degree class was undefined or unknown. 4. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: TDA's Performance Profiles

Teachers: Training

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many entrants for B.Ed degree courses had no A level passes, excluding equivalents, in the last year for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: The available information is given in the table and shows the number and percentage of entrants to undergraduate initial teacher training (ITT) courses by their highest qualification on entry. Qualifications included in the Other category might be higher than A/AS level and can include trainees who have A/AS levels. Information relating specifically to entrants with no qualifications at advanced level is therefore not available.
	Undergraduate trainees represent 24 per cent. of trainees on mainstream ITT courses.
	
		
			  Undergraduate entrants to ITT courses by their highest qualification on entry 2006-07-England 
			   Mainstream  Employment  b ased 
			   Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 Highest qualification on entry: 
			 With A or AS 4,960 63.6 0 0.0 
			 GNVQ (1)- (1)- 0 0.0 
			 Access 660 8.5 0 0.0 
			 Other 2,180 27.9 170 100.0 
			 Total 7,790 100.0 170 100.0 
			 (1) Less than 5, or a rate based on less than 5.  Notes: 1. Mainstream includes Universities and other higher education institutes and Open University, but excludes Employment based ITT (EBITT). 2. EBITT includes trainees through the Registered Teacher programme.  Source: TDA's Performance Profiles

Teachers: Training

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what average number of hours of continuous professional development training was received by teachers in the last year for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: The Department does not collect these data in the manner requested centrally. However, the Teachers' Workloads Diary survey, managed until recently by the Office of Manpower Economics and funded by the Department, does include time spent on training and/or development activity, including INSET, peer observation or being mentored. The survey results reflect each individual's definition of continuing professional development (CPD) and, as such, will not necessarily record many activities that would constitute CPD such as coaching or reading teaching and learning material.
	The latest results from that survey, for 2008, showed that the average time per week spent on this activity was:
	
		
			   Hours 
			  Primary:  
			 Heads 3.2 
			 Deputy Heads 2.3 
			 Classroom teachers 1.4 
			  Secondary:  
			 Heads 3.2 
			 Deputies 1.7 
			 Heads of department 1.1 
			 Classroom teachers 0.8 
		
	
	The full report is available at:
	www.ome.uk.com/downloads/2008%20Teachers%20Report%20FINAL.pdf.

JUSTICE

Asylum and Immigration Tribunal

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many files were destroyed by the fire at the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal Centre in London on 19 March 2009; how many such files have yet to be reconstructed; how many cases have been delayed as a consequence of that fire; and when he expects those cases to have been determined.

Bridget Prentice: On 18 March 2009, 127 Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) files and 22 Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) files were completely destroyed by fire at the AIT's centre, Field House.
	All of the SIAC files have been reconstructed. All the 127 AIT files were awaiting decisions from the Court of Appeal. Of these, 12 have been reconstructed and remitted back to the AIT. Administrative staff have requested the necessary papers from the parties in order for these cases to be listed for hearings. A further 26 have been completed because they were withdrawn at the Court of Appeal or Court of Appeal judgments not in favour of the appellant have been delivered. The Court of Appeal has now returned from summer recess and it is expected that the remainder of these will be cleared.
	There were also 141 files, at various stages of the AIT reconsideration process, that were damaged by water and smoke and these were sent to a file recovery centre. On return, the files were checked and any papers that were illegible were re-requested from parties. All these cases are now progressing through the appeal system.
	A total of 128 AIT cases were adjourned immediately after the fire but hearings resumed a week later at an alternative venue. A total of 93 have already been heard and determined, four have been heard and are awaiting determination, 24 were heard in September and will be determined in October, two will be heard and determined in October and five will be heard and determined in November. These timescales reflect the time needed, in some cases, to reconstruct damaged appeal files. The SIAC cases have not been subject to any delay.
	Priority has been given to High Court Review Filter Applications (where a party is dissatisfied with the first appeal decision) with the aim that parties received decisions within 10 days. Here, the impact of the fire was compounded by unexpected increases in workload. All of these cases have now been cleared.
	The files destroyed and damaged represent a small number compared with over 1,000 which were salvaged from Field House. A huge contingency operation where administrative staff and members of the judiciary worked closely together ensured that hearings were resumed and the business relocated with a minimum inconvenience and delay to customers.

Female Genital Mutilation: Prosecutions

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) prosecutions and  (b) convictions there have been for offences related to female genital mutilation in each of the last five years; and what steps he plans to take to increase the prosecution rate for such offences.

Claire Ward: There have been no prosecutions or convictions for female genital mutilation (FGM) reported to the Ministry of Justice up to the end of 2007. Data for 2008 will be available towards the end of 2009.
	The Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 is intended to help to prevent this unacceptable practice from happening in the first place. Anecdotal evidence suggests that it is doing this. A range of guidance has been issued to heighten awareness among all relevant professionals. The Home Office issued guidance to all chief officers of police in England and Wales on the investigation of cases of FGM when the Act came into force in 2004. The Association of Chief Police Officers incorporated FGM in guidance for police forces which was revised and reissued in 2008. The Crown Prosecution Service included FGM in its Policy for Prosecuting Cases of Domestic Violence, which was disseminated to all prosecutors by the end of 2008. This was accompanied by a modular training package which has been rolled out to all CPS areas.
	The Home Office chairs a cross-governmental steering group on FGM which brings together officials from across Government and key voluntary organisations and service providers. The group's aim is to develop actions and practical tools to assist victims and potential victims of FGM and to provide a co-ordinated response to tackling the issue. As part of this work, the Under-Secretary of State for Crime Reduction, my hon. Friend the Member for Tynemouth (Mr. Campbell) announced on 24 September the appointment of a cross-Government co-ordinator to provide a single point of contact for work on this issue.

Land: Registration

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many claims there were to the Land Registry Indemnity Fund by nature of claim in each of the last four years; how many such claims were paid; what estimate he has made of the monetary value of such claims by nature of claim; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many complaints were received by the Land Registry regarding errors in or omissions from register entries in respect of indemnity claims in each of the last four years; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  with reference to the table on page 44 of the Land Registry Annual Report 2007-08, what criteria apply to the calculation of substantive loss in respect of Land Registry indemnity claims; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  with reference to the Land Registry Annual Report 2007-08, if he will publish an updated version of the table on page 44 providing the same information in respect of indemnity claims for 2008-09.

Michael Wills: The Land Registration Act 2002 makes provision for the payment of statutory compensation or 'indemnity' where a mistake arises, which includes not only mistakes in the register itself but also, for example, mistakes in official copies of documents referred to in the register or mistakes in official searches of the register. The Land Registration Act 2002 sets out the circumstances in which the register can be altered so as to put right a mistake and also the circumstances when this is not possible. Mistakes in the register can result in losses to those affected by them whether or not the register is subsequently altered and Land Registry will where appropriate pay indemnity to compensate anyone who suffers loss as a result of the rectification of the register (where the register is altered to correct the mistake and this prejudicially affects a registered title), or as a result of a mistake in the register that could have been rectified but for some reason (for example because land is in the possession of an innocent registered proprietor) was not.
	The following tables show details of the number and nature of claims over the last four years. The number of claims received, paid and monetary value of such claims has been recorded from 2006-07. Prior to that date, it was not Land Registry practice to record either the number of claims received or the amount claimed. When the number of claims received is fewer in number than the total this is because a claim is not necessarily paid in the year in which it is received.
	The tables include information on indemnity claims as a result of errors and omissions in register entries. The question of the number of complaints about this type of error is a different issue. It does not necessarily follow that a complaint will be received when a mistake resulting in a payment has been made or, conversely, that a payment will be made when a complaint is received. Land Registry has specific complaint category records from 2008-09. During this period 182 complaints were received about this type of mistake.
	Land Registry does not itself calculate the value of an indemnity claim, so there are no criteria as such to apply to the calculation of substantive loss in this respect. Instead, the claimant or their legal representative submits a claim based on the value of the loss (including any legal or other costs) caused by the mistake in the register and Land Registry considers the claim in the light of the individual facts and in accordance with the provisions of the Land Registration Act 2002. It may follow that a claim is reduced through negotiation or because, for example, there has been negligence or 'lack of proper care' on the part of the claimant. In some cases a professional valuation is obtained in order to quantify the value of a claim. In the absence of agreement, the Land Registration Act 2002 entitles a claimant to seek a determination from the court as to any question of entitlement and the amount of any such indemnity.
	Land Registry may also pay indemnity in respect of legal and other costs, where appropriate.
	Land Registry's Annual Report always contains an Indemnity Report. The table for the year 2008-09 is within the recently published report and a copy is also set out as follows:
	
		
			  Indemnity report for 2005-06 
			  Nature of claim  Number of claims paid  Substantive loss paid (£)  Legal costs paid (£)  Percentage of total 
			 Extent of registered titles 487 1,696,162.58 1,272,091.06 21.03 
			 Errors in/omissions from register entries 181 533,582.82 328,818.11 6.11 
			 Sundry plans errors 52 15,617.81 117,589.04 0.94 
			 Fraud and forgery 31 8,632,656.95 1,201,960.78 69.67 
			 Official inspections of Title Plans 18 26,065.14 28,276.03 0.38 
			 Bankruptcy Errors 3 34,379.30 0 0.24 
			 Official Searches 9 16,503.55 4,580.50 0.15 
			 Office Copies 5 700 1,359.70 0.01 
			 Errors in SIMS 36 73,441.06 24,368.48 0.69 
			 Errors in filed extracts 3 195 160 0.003 
			 Lost documents/administrative errors 169 43,796.61 63,650.53 0.76 
			 Land Charges Errors 3 46 41.12 0.0006 
			 Total 997 11,073,146.82 3,042,895.35 - 
			 Gross Payment made (£)   14,116,042.17 - 
			 Less sums recovered under the Land Registry's statutory right of recourse (£) - - 178,809.97 - 
			 Net Indemnity Paid (£) - - 13,937,232.20 - 
		
	
	
		
			  Indemnity report for 2006-07 
			  Nature of claim  Number of claims paid  Number of claims received  Amount claimed (£)  Substantive loss paid (£)  Legal costs paid (£)  Percentage of total 
			 Extent of registered titles 331 197 7,250,189 1,207,312.23 652,088.67 35.39 
			 Errors in/omissions from register entries 152 104 881,952 530,203.50 143,185.43 12.82 
			 Sundry plans errors 45 39 82,553 172,246.99 58,758.08 4.40 
			 Fraud and forgery 24 31 3,282,104 2,001,137.11 122,359.23 40.42 
			 Official inspections of Title Plans 16 14 74,313 52,454.99 62,653.89 2.19 
			 Bankruptcy Errors 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Official Searches 8 8 19,303 4,280.36 5,033.89 0.18 
			 Office Copies 9 9 1,041 110 1,230.72 0.03 
			 Errors in SIMS 19 20 241,227 3,392.42 15,152.53 0.35 
			 Errors in filed extracts 18 23 5,795 1,062.00 8,125.95 0.17 
			 Lost documents/administrative errors 249 220 349,468 113,781.73 98,040.29 4.03 
			 Land Charges Errors 2 0 0 806.50 0 0.02 
			 Total 873 665 12,187,947 4,086,787.83 1,166,628.68 100 
			 Gross Payment made (£) - - - - 5,253,416.51 - 
			 Less sums recovered under the Land Registry's statutory right of recourse (£) - - - - 654,715.36 - 
			 Net Indemnity Paid (£) - - - - 4,598,701.15 - 
		
	
	
		
			  Indemnity report for 2007-08 
			  Nature of claim  Number of claims paid  Number of claims received  Amount claimed (£)  Substantive loss paid (£)  Legal costs paid (£)  Percentage of total 
			 Extent of registered titles 360 242 1,216,972 750,244.31 879,272.43 17.89 
			 Errors in/omissions from register entries 148 119 3,392,744 1,795,681.27 326,818.24 23.30 
			 Sundry plans errors 39 34 30,705 13,611.23 22,747.87 0.40 
			 Fraud and forgery 60 53 6,335,864 3,429,131.38 524,246.64 43.39 
			 Official inspections of Title Plans 11 10 36,312 20,000 8,579.83 0.31 
			 Bankruptcy Errors 1 1 18,629 0 18,628.94 0.20 
			 Official Searches 15 10 895,421 421,557.93 31,597.14 4.97 
			 Office Copies 22 26 41,006 875.35 3,859.20 0.05 
			 Errors in SIMS 33 21 39,620 1,084.30 30,029.54 0.34 
			 Errors in filed extracts 51 38 14,852 89,651.52 29,294.07 1.31 
			 Lost documents/administrative errors 331 308 723,486 40,805.41 157,113.50 2.17 
			 Land Charges Errors 1 0 0 450,000 65,388.75 5.66 
			 Total 1072 862 12,745,611 7,012,642.70 2,097,576.15 100 
			 Gross Payment made (£) - - - - 9,110,218.85 - 
			 Less sums recovered under the Land Registry's statutory right of recourse (£)  - - - 72,535.89 - 
			 Net Indemnity Paid (£) - - - - 9,037,682.96 - 
		
	
	
		
			  Indemnity report for 2008-09 
			  Nature of claim  Number of claims paid  Number of claims received  Amount claimed (£)  Substantive loss paid (£)  Legal costs paid (£)  Percentage of total 
			 Extent of registered titles 431 316 3,240,957 1,018,056.69 713,363.13 17.21 
			 Errors in/omissions from register entries 175 144 3,999,026 1,994,887.52 433,617.33 24.14 
			 Sundry plans errors 45 36 116,142 340,128.92 46,290.67 3.84 
			 Fraud and forgery 62 82 9,237,179 4,257,074.48 815,038.95 50.42 
			 Official inspections of Title Plans 18 14 88,400 13,358.00 19,851.29 0.33 
			 Bankruptcy Errors 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 
			 Official Searches 14 10 9,718 431.94 4,218.95 0.05 
			 Office Copies 22 18 7,531 707.85 15,785.28 0.16 
			 Errors in SIMS 40 30 150,877 74,399.53 38,376.27 1.12 
			 Errors in filed extracts 62 51 30,289 12,380.83 19,250.39 0.31 
			 Lost documents/administrative errors 495 473 634,677 125,434.63 116,292.74 2.40 
			 Land Charges Errors 0 2 1,559 0 0 0 
			 Total 1364 1176 17,516,353 7,836,860.39 2,222,085.00 100 
			 Gross Payment made (£) - - - - 10,058,945.39 - 
			 Less sums recovered under the Land Registry's statutory right of recourse (£) - - - - 89,235.00 - 
			 Net Indemnity Paid (£) - - - - 9,969,710.39 -

Magistrates Courts: Leicestershire

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which magistrates courts in Leicestershire he proposes to  (a) close and  (b) reduce the sitting hours of in the next (i) 12 and (ii) 24 months.

Bridget Prentice: I refer the hon. and learned Member to the written ministerial statement made earlier today setting out the Government's plans to consult on the closure of a number of under used magistrates courts. Many of the courts we are consulting on do not have adequate facilities for victims and witnesses or other court users. None of the courts we are consulting on are located within Leicestershire.
	HMCS must keep the level of magistrates courts sitting commensurate to the amount of work-local management decisions, involving local judiciary, including magistrates, and staff will be taken regularly to ensure that that is the case. Local discussions are currently under way to determine the sitting levels for 2010-11-these discussions have not concluded and no proposals have therefore been made yet.
	HMCS regularly reviews the use and utilisation of its estate. Where there is insufficient work and alternative facilities within a reasonable travelling distance we will hold consultations to seek views on whether to close a court. We will make a decision on whether to close a court after considering the responses to consultations.

Offences Against Children: Convictions

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been convicted for offences related to viewing child abuse images in each of the last five years.

Claire Ward: The number of persons found guilty at all courts in England and Wales for offences relating to child pornography of taking, permitting to be taken, distributing, publishing or possession of indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children, from 2003 to 2007 (latest available) is shown in table 1 as follows. It is not possible to separately identify computer based offences from other offences related to indecent photographs.
	The number of persons found guilty at all courts in England and Wales for offences relating to child abuse, from 2003 to 2007 is shown in table 2 as follows. There is no specific offence of child abuse therefore statistics are only provided where the age of the victim can be identified as a child from the description of the offence. Furthermore the term child abuse describes harm caused to a child arising from emotional, physical, sexual abuse or neglect caused by a parent, guardian, carer, or stranger. A number of other offences such as offences against the person including physical assault may frequently be used by the police to charge offenders.
	The Sexual Offences Act 2003 significantly modernised and strengthened the laws on sexual offences in England and Wales to provide extra protection to children from sexual exploitation. This makes direct comparisons with previous legislation very difficult. Many new offences created by the Act will not have a direct equivalent under the old legislation. The Sexual Offences Act 2003 came into force on 1 May 2004. Table 2 includes, for 2003 only, comparable offences under the Sexual Offences Act 1956.
	Court proceedings data for 2008 are planned for publication at the end of November 2009.
	
		
			  Table 1: The number of persons found guilty at all courts in England and Wales for offences relating to child pornography( 1)  from 2003 to 2007( 2, 3) 
			  Offence Description  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Take, permit to be taken, or to make distribute or publish indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children 1,048 978 958 768 782 
			 Possession of an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child 239 184 196 166 185 
			 (1 )Offences under the Protection of Children Act 1978, section 1 and section 6 as amended by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, section 84  Criminal Justice  Court Services Act 2000 S.41(1); Offences under the Criminal Justice Act 1988 Sec. 160 as amended by the Criminal Justice  Court Services Act 2000. (2 )The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the more severe. (3 )Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source:  Office for Criminal Justice Reform-Evidence  Analysis Unit. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: The number of persons found guilty at all courts in England and Wales for offences relating to child abuse, 2003 to 2007( 1, 2) 
			  Statute  Offence description  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004(3) S.5 Causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable person (4)- (4)- - 2 6 
			 Children and Young Persons Act 1933 S.1 Cruelty or neglect of children 494 540 482 488 493 
			 Offences against the Person Act 1861 S.27 Abandoning children under 2 years 1 - - 2 1 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003(5) S.1 Rape of a female aged under 16 (6)254 275 234 219 236 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003(5) S.1 Rape of a male aged under 16 (6)29 28 32 15 23 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003(5) S. 5 Rape of a female child under 13 by a male (4)- 5 58 85 91 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003(5 )S. 5 Rape of a male child under 13 by a male (4)- 1 14 32 37 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003(5) S.7(5) Sexual assault of a female child under 13 (4)- 34 174 243 273 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003(5) S.8(1)(2)(1)(3), S.10(1a,b,ci)(3), S.9(1a,b,cii)(2)(3), S.10(1,a,b,c(ii)(2)(3) Sexual activity involving a child (4)- 20 127 185 190 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003(5) S.16(1ei,2-5),(1eii,2-5), S.17(1ei,2-5)(1eii,2-5), S.18(1fi,2-5), S19(1ei,2-5) Abuse of a position of trust: Sexual activity with children (4)- 3 14 16 15 
			 Total  778 906 1,135 1,287 1,365 
			 (1) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the more severe. (2 )Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts, and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3 )Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 S.5 came into force on 21 March 2005. (4 )Not applicable. (5 )The Sexual Offences Act 2003 came into force on 1 May 2004. (6 )Sexual Offences Act 1956, S.1, as amended by the Criminal Justice  Public Order Act 1994, S.142-comparable offences to S.1 Sexual Offences Act 2003.  Source:  Office for Criminal Justice Reform-Evidence  Analysis Unit

Offences Against Children: Sentencing

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the  (a) minimum and  (b) maximum length of sentence handed down for offences relating to viewing child abuse images was in each of the last five years.

Claire Ward: The information available is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Minimum and maximum length of immediate custodial sentence handed down for offences relating to viewing child abuse images( 1) , 2003-07 
			   2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Total sentenced 1,261 1,140 1,129 948 944 
			 Total immediate custody 640 595 561 392 404 
			 Maximum (Years) 9 7 IPP IPP IPP 
			 Minimum (Weeks) 4 2 4 4 8 
			 (1) Section 1 (1) of the Protection of Children Act 1978, Section 160 (1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988.  Note: These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.  Source: OMS Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice. 
		
	
	There is no specific offence of viewing child abuse images, this table covers a wider range of offences and it is not solely based on viewing child abuse images. These data are presented on the principal offence basis. Where an offender has been sentenced for more than one offence, the principal offence is the one for which the heaviest sentence was imposed. Where the same sentence has been imposed for two or more offences, the principal offence is the one for which the statutory maximum is most severe.
	There are two main offences in this area:
	Under Section 1 (1) of the Protection of Children Act 1978 it is an offence for a person:
	(a) to take, or permit to be taken, or to make any indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child; or
	(b) to distribute or show such indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs; or
	(c) to have in his possession such indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs, with a view to their being distributed or shown by himself or others; or
	(d) to publish or cause to be published any advertisement likely to be understood as conveying that the advertiser distributes or shows such indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs, or intends to do so.
	These offences carry a 'maximum 10-year prison sentence'.
	Section 160 (1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 makes it an offence for a person to have any indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child in his possession.
	This offence carries a maximum prison term of five years.
	A sentence of imprisonment for public protection can be given for a specified sexual (or violent offence) that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years or over; the relevant offences are set out in schedule 15 to the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and include an offence under section 1 of the Protection of Children Act 1978. These sentences ensure that serious offenders will not be released from prison unless their level of risk to the public is assessed by the Parole Board as manageable in the community. If the level of risk cannot be assessed as manageable, they will not be released. An offence under section 160 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 may attract an extended sentence for public protection. Such a sentence requires the offender to be on licence and under supervision for a longer period for the purposes of public protection.

Prison Visitors: Expenditure

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was spent on  (a) the administration of and  (b) expenditure by the Assisted Prison Visits Unit in each of the last three years; and whether those costs were included in the revenue costs of his Department.

Maria Eagle: The administration expenditure for the assisted prison visits unit (APVU) is as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2006-07 697,000 
			 2007-08 693,000 
			 2008-09 710,000 
		
	
	The gross expenditure by the assisted prison visits unit for giving assistance to prisoners' visitors is as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2006-07 1,941,000 
			 2007-08 2,170,000 
			 2008-09 2,171,000 
		
	
	The total expenditure for APVU has been included in the revenue costs of the Ministry of Justice for 2008-09 and 2007-08, and the Home Office for 2006-07.
	The assisted prison visits scheme provides help with travel and where appropriate accommodation expenses to prisoners' close relatives, partners or a friend (where they are the only visitor). In all cases the visitor must be in receipt of specified benefits or on a low income.

Prisoners Release: Mentally Ill

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what mentoring programmes are available for people with  (a) mental health problems and  (b) learning disabilities who leave custody; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: I have been asked to reply.
	The Department does not keep any central record of mentoring programmes for people leaving custody with mental health problems or learning disabilities. Such schemes are usually local initiatives started by voluntary agencies working with their local prison and other services.

Prisoners: Death

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many people have died from cancer while in custody in each year since 2001;
	(2)  how many inmates have died in prison from natural causes in each year since 2002.

Maria Eagle: The following table gives the number of people known to have died from cancer while in prison custody in England and Wales in each year since 2001.
	
		
			   Number of known cancer related deaths in prison custody in England and Wales 
			 2001 6 
			 2002 7 
			 2003 17 
			 2004 21 
			 2005 19 
			 2006 18 
			 2007 14 
			 2008 22 
		
	
	The number known to be cancer related are shown in this table and refer to primary cause of death but exclude cases where cancer played a secondary or tertiary role. In later years the numbers should be interpreted as provisional, as they may change following inquests or as new information emerges.
	The following table gives the total number of deaths from natural causes in prison custody in England and Wales since 2002.
	
		
			   Total number of deaths from natural causes in prison custody in England and Wales 
			 2002 66 
			 2003 86 
			 2004 102 
			 2005 88 
			 2006 83 
			 2007 92 
			 2008 98 
		
	
	Every death in prison is a tragedy, and affects families, staff and other prisoners deeply. Ministers, the Ministry of Justice and NOMS are committed to learning from each death and to reducing the number of such incidents. Deaths in prisons are among the most scrutinised of all incidents and each case is subject to a police investigation and independent investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman. Robust systems are in place for monitoring deaths and learning from them.

Prisoners: Foreigners

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) Romanian and  (b) Bulgarian nationals have been sentenced to a term of imprisonment in each of the last three years.

Claire Ward: The requested data are not available as the nationality of those sentenced is not recorded on the Court Proceedings database. Data on the number of Bulgarians and Romanian nationals currently in custody can be found in the Table 5 of the June 2009 'Population in Custody' bulletin published by the Ministry of Justice, following this link:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/populationincustody.htm
	The following table taken from the Offender Management Caseload Statistics shows the total number of Bulgarian and Romanian receptions for 2006 to 2008. The figures for 2006 are considerably lower because both these countries joined the EU in January 2007.
	
		
			  Receptions into prison establishments by nationality and sex, 2006-08 
			   Male  Female  Total 
			  2006
			 Bulgaria 29 13 42 
			 Romania 255 35 290 
			 
			  2007
			 Bulgaria 47 128 175 
			 Romania 438 114 552 
			 
			  2008
			 Bulgaria 40 133 173 
			 Romania 749 122 871 
			  Note: These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.  Source: OMS Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice

Prisons: Private Sector

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he has taken to ensure that private sector prisons take action in response to criticisms contained in the reports on them by HM Inspector of Prisons.

Maria Eagle: Contracted Sector Prisons are subject to the same procedures as public sector prisons for HM Inspector of Prisons. Within three months of the publication of a report on any prison, the National Offender Management Service is required to develop and submit an action plan to HM Chief Inspector of Prisons. This plan will respond to every recommendation made in the report. After a further nine months this action plan is updated. Ministers approve both action plans. The action plans enable progress to be monitored.

Prisons: Television

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much HM Prison Service  (a) spent on televisions in prisons in the last 12 months for which figures are available and  (b) received from prisoners under contracts for television rental.

Maria Eagle: Prisoners have access to televisions in-cell as part of local incentives and earned privileges schemes. Prisoners can rent televisions for £1 per week. The revenue generated from this charge is used for the purchase of new and replacement televisions and to fund the switchover of the prison estate from analogue to digital television.
	In the financial year 2008-09, HM Prison Service expenditure and rental income from prisoners in respect of in-cell TV is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   £ 
			 Expenditure 2,311,000 
			 Rental income from prisoners 2,135,000

Probation Officers

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the number of trainee probation officers expected to qualify in 2009 who will not find employment in the Probation Service.

Maria Eagle: There are currently 44 graduating TPOs in the national clearing house arrangements who have yet to receive offers of employment. A further 59 graduates have left the National Probation Service to take up posts elsewhere, or elected not to join the clearing house arrangements. 27 trainees have received training contract extensions and will not therefore qualify in 2009.

Probation: Costs

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of probation facilities management contracts in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10.

Jack Straw: The final cost of the fixed fee facilities management services for the Probation estate for 2008-09 and expected costs for 2009-10 are currently subject to commercial negotiations. Once the negotiations have concluded I will write to the hon. and learned Member setting out the costs.

Probation: Hertfordshire

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cases were referred to multi-agency public protection panels in Hertfordshire Probation Area in each of the last five financial years.

Maria Eagle: The following table shows the total number of multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA) eligible offenders living in the community in Hertfordshire. The table also shows the number of eligible offenders who were managed at the higher MAPPA levels and who were considered by multi-agency public protection panels. Cases are referred to level 2 where the ongoing involvement of several agencies will be required to implement or monitor the risk management plan and to level 3 where more senior oversight is additionally required. The data are collated from those data prepared for Hertfordshire's MAPPA Annual Reports.
	
		
			  Hertfordshire  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Total MAPPA eligible offenders 867 808 791 732 665 
			 Level 2 (1)- 583 57 329 125 
			 Level 3 113 112 31 45 14 
			 (1 )Not collected.